Naruto: Demon Rising
by Krazykandyman
Summary: After failing to bring Sasuke back Naruto goes on a mission to find clues only to die. But when news of a teenage boy with blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a Konoha headband is seen, questions rise. R
1. Chapter 1

**This was stuck in my head one day after I drank down one of those nasty tasting Five Hour Shots**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

_A New Mission_

_Konoha in the Afternoon_

After Uchiha Sasuke left Konoha for Orochimaru there was a depression hanging around the Konoha 11, most apparent when looking at Team 7. Sakura was still upset with the loss of Sasuke and as for Naruto, he was lost. He was lost because even if he promised Sakura the girl that held his affections that he would bring Sasuke back, he did not know where to start. He was lost because he was scared, again he got angry and again the Kyubii's chakra took over and even with that power he could not stop Sasuke.

It still hurt for Naruto to move around much, even if he could heal faster than anyone in Konoha thanks to his reluctant tenant, some injuries are harder to get over than others. This was too much to think about for a thirteen year old boy. This was how Hatake Kakashi found Naruto as he ate his ramen with the loss of vigor that he usually had for his favorite food.

"How are you doing Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"I could be better Kakashi sensei, I need to get stronger soon so I can bring Sasuke back." Naruto said with the false smile that failed to hide the pain and sadness Naruto did not want anyone to see. Kakashi was not fooled easily but he decided not to comment.

"Jiraiya-sama has been looking for you, he mentioned that he still wants to take you on a training trip, it might be a solution to your problem Naruto." Kakashi stated with an eye smile that only he could pull off.

"Thanks Kakashi sensei I will go look for him now." And with a new vigor Naruto devoured the rest of his ramen and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Oy Naruto you forgot to pay for your food!" Teuchi the owner of the ramen stand yelled after him. He then decided to turn his glare towards Kakashi expectantly, causing the Jonin to sweat drop.

The first place Naruto went to was the Hokage's and he was lucky since Tsunade and Jiraiya were both in her office talking about what ever old people talk about.

"Yo Ero-senin take me on this training trip you told Kakashi sensei about!" Naruto demanded not even taking in the atmosphere of the room.

"Naruto! This is a private conversation and we can't have any interruptions at this moment. Please go wait outside." Tsunade asked, even if she knew that the young Genin would not listen to her and just ordered the boy for the sake of things.

"Sorry Ba-chan this can't wait, I gotta get stronger so I can drag Sasuke back to Konoha." Stated Naruto bluntly causing the two Sanin to stare at Naruto with a glimmer in their eyes that could be considered a mix of surprise and pride.

"Just like his father." Jiraiya mumbled with a smirk on his face.

"Naruto I can't at the moment, what with the shortage of shinobi in the village I cannot just let you leave the village to train." Even though Tsunade said that, the truth was that Jiraiya filled her in about Akatsuki and how they wanted Naruto. Even though she wouldn't admit it the little hyperactive Genin quickly found a place in her heart and she would be damned if she would send Naruto out of the village knowing the risks.

"Come on Ba-chan there has got to be a way for me to leave the village and get stronger!" Nartuo whined like he always did when he didn't get what he wanted.

After thinking about it for a moment Tsunade decided to compromise. "How about we do this then Naruto. I am sending Team 7 on a mission, Anbu reports have shown a Sound hideout in the Wind Country. Your mission is a simple investigation, I do not want you to engage the enemy, and Jiraiya will go along with your team Naruto."

"But-" Naruto wanted to protest.

"Take it or leave it Naruto." Tsunade stated with a tick mark slowly appearing on her forehead.

"Gaki, think about it, this is a Sound hideout, we might find a clue about Sasuke" Jiraiya whispered to the boy quietly.

Realization slowly dawned on Naruto's face. "OH YEAH, YOU CAN COUNT ON US BA-CHAN!" Naruto cheered a little to happily while running out of the office.

"You will look after him will you Jiraiya?"

"Of Course, when we get back why don't we go grab a drink, eh Tsunade?" Jiraiya said with that lecherous grin.

"Just get out you perv" Tsunade smirked.

_Somewhere In the Roots Of Konoha_

"Danzo-sama, it would seem the Hokage plans to send Uzumaki Naruto on a mission outside of Konoha" A Root Anbu told the heavily bandaged and scarred man.

The stoic Danzo could not help but to smirk unsettling those around him. "Good"

**A/N Trah lalalala alot of filler but some good stuff is about to happen. Bye for now**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

_Beginning Of The End_

_Somewhere on the borders of the Land of Fire_

The Konoha shinobi traveled for the better part of three days to the Land of Wind a collective excitement about clues to find Sasuke was the only thing that was really keeping up their spirits.

"How much longer until we get there Kakashi sensei?" Asked the blonde of the group clearly losing patience

"About another hour Naruto, learn to be more patient." Kakashi stated blandly.

As if Kakashi knew everything it was about an hour later when they sighted a doorway that led to the underground. The two Genin started to get excited about finally getting closer to their goal.

"Wait you two, let me and Jiraiya-sama go take a look and then you can follow along." The carefree Kakashi had a determined look, even though he wouldn't admit it he was excited as well to find any hints as to where Sasuke may have gone. Reluctantly Naruto and Sakura stayed hidden away from the entrance. A few minutes later they were waved over by Jiraiya who did not look happy.

"From the looks of it inside there hasn't been anyone inside here for a while, look at the thin layer of dust." As if to prove his point Jiraiya wiped his finger across a desk showing the Genin his dirty finger. It was disappointing, but it did not disheartened the two Genin.

"Let's go take a look around then maybe there is something they left behind as a clue." Sakura said trying to lighten the mood. They all agreed and continued down the hall looking through various doors. They found some papers about various experiments and many rooms with beds in them, but nothing that could be seen as helpful. As they were about to leave yet another empty room, something caught Naruto's eye.

"What is it Naruto" asked his pink headed teammate. Naruto didn't answer, instead he continued to walk down the hallway with the other three following close behind.

"Naruto?" Jiraiya seemed to be on edge as well, he felt a presence but just could not pinpoint where. Suddenly Kakashi tensed up and grabbed Naruto and Sakura and pulled them down to the ground closely followed by Jiraiya as a barrage of shuriken flew past them.

"Damn so close…To bad so sad" The Konoha shinobi turned around to face the perpetrators. They were met with four shinobi with Sound headbands. Kakashi and Jiraiya engaged the four while Naruto and Sakura stayed in the back watching. Until Naruto got impatient and ran forward with his hands coming together.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" this was followed by five copies of Naruto. The Sound-nin did not seem to be bothered by this and merely swatted Naruto away if he got to close. Naruto was angry now and he wanted to make sure everyone knew that.

"Hey you bastards, where are you keeping Sasuke?" Naruto demanded. Their response was for one of the shinobi to attack him with a kunai, Nartuo reacted with his own and they parried each other.

"Like I would tell you brat" mumbled the Sound-nin loud enough for Naruto to hear as he backed away and ran through another hallway.

"Hey get back here you bastard" Naruto shouted as he gave chase to the lone shinobi.

"Naruto wait!" Sakura futilely yelled after the boy. She tried to go after him but was quickly blocked by another Sound-nin who casually just waved a finger at her as if to say "_sorry but you are not allowed there." _Kakashi and Jiraiya tried to follow as well but were having more trouble than they expected from their respective adversaries both thinking the same thing. "_This is not good."_

Naruto chased his target down the hallway finally cornering him. Naruto felt triumphant, that was until the Sound-nin turned around and in a puff of smoke turned into another man. Naruto was confused as he looked at the man who wore a cloak that covered his body while he wore an Anbu mask. A Slow realization came to him as he stared more intently at this masked man. This guy is an Anbu from Konoha! Naruto was more than confused about why would Konoha Anbu would have attacked them, but he was ready to fight regardless.

"You are coming with me Uzumaki Naruto." Stated the masked man emotionlessly as he formed several seals with his hands, the results being a circle began to glow right under Naruto. The only thoughts running through Naruto's mind were simple but said it all….Damnit!

Kakashi and Jiraiya were finally pushing back their attackers when suddenly an explosion erupted from the very hallway Naruto and that Sound-nin went.

"Awwww play time is over now. Bye bye." Yelled one of enemies as the three of them disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi, Jiraiya, an dSakura would have went down the hallway Naruto went if it was not for the fact they saw to late that the room was littered with explosive tags. The trio ran out in time before the entire compound exploded taking everything within it with it including Naruto.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed over and over tears running down her cheeks. Kakashi and Jiraiya tried to run back to the ruins and try to move the rubble out of the way trying desperately to find their lost student. Jiraiya stopped and walked backwards as he sat down cross-legged as if in meditation. A few moments later Jiraiya's appearance changed, his nose became more bulbous and his eyes looked more frog than human. Sakura was unsettled to say the least, but Kakashi stared at him as if he was giving out candy to children. Jiraiya was in Frog Sage mode, and he was using it to help them find Naruto. Minutes passed until Jiraiya opened his eyes in shock.

"I can't find Naruto's presence anywhere within this rubble" he said quietly. Sakura was in denial crying mumbling about how the man was wrong, that Naruto was still in there. Kakashi closed his eyes as if in silent prayer feeling the loss of yet another student. And Jiraiya stood up and slowly walked away from the ruins with a hard look in his face. He would not be looking forward to what he had to do next. He would have to go back to Konoha and tell Tsunade that Uzumaki Naruto was dead.

_In the Roots Compound Under Konoha_

Danzo looked expectantly at the three present Roots members after hearing their report. The tension was suffocating and no one dared to move.

"Are you telling me that the mission was a success, but we have yet to hear word from Rat with the jinchūriki's body?" Danzo asked with venom in his voice.

"Yes Danzo-sama…..forgive us, we have already sent another group out to see where they may have gone." Said one of the three with absolute fear in his voice. Fear was crippling and it was how Danzo ensured his position among the Root. He instilled fear to those who failed to meet his expectations and the three knew that it would get much worse. Without another word Danzo turned away from the trio and left to his private quarters.

_Flashback_

"Your mission is simple" stated Danzo. "You four are to travel to the designated area where this supposed Sound hideout is and to capture the jinchūriki. I do not care how you separate the boy from the rest of the group, just do it and make sure that everyone thinks he died on that mission."

"Danzo-sama, how do we fool the three going along with him?" Danzo looked at the source of the question in the form of a Root member who looked like he was one of the older members of the group.

"That is why Rat will be going along with you, he has the adequate sealing abilities that will restrict the jinchūriki's chakra and with you faking the boy's death will only support the illusion even more. After that you will bring the jinchūriki's body back here so we can extract the Kyubii from the boy and do as we please with it"

_Present_

The plan was easy enough, why did this have to happen Danzo thought. Where in the hell was Rat with the jinchūriki

_Somewhere in the Land of Wind_

Naruto woke up to a cool breeze brushing his face. He looked around noticing that he was definitely not in Konoha or anywhere near it. He was on a hill overlooking a village about half a mile away.

"Where am I?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

_Starting Over_

_Somewhere in the Land of Wind_

Naruto stumbled acorss the hillside tired and hurting. He tried to remember what exactly happened but for the life of him he could not remember anything after chasing that fake Sound guy and him turning into a freaking Anbu. That was definitely messed up his mind. All of a sudden Naruto's head started to hurt. The pain was too much, he fell onto his knees and would have screamed from the pain if it were not for a dark chuckle. Opening his eyes, Naruto saw that he was in a dark room with no apparent wall. Turning around Naruto came face to face with the caged Kyubii that has been sealed inside him since the day of his birth.

"**Hey brat." **The Kyubii said with a pompous smirk on his face. The blood orange demon fox looked down at the boy, the tension between the two was so thick that anyone could have felt it.

"Damn fox, what did you do to me?" Naruto demanded not even phased about the fact that he was talking to the fox yet again.

"**I saved your life you ungrateful brat!" **The fox roared at Naruto as if it was so obvious even the idiot brat should have figured that out.

"Wha- what are you talking about?" With trepidation Naruto asked not liking how this conversation was going.

"**Think about it." **The Kyubii simply said. Still confused Naruto closed his eyes and slowly but surely started to remember what happened.

_Flashback_

Naruto was trapped in a sealing circle, he felt like a giant weight was pushing him down and against his wishes he started to lose consciousness.

"Capture successful" The masked shinobi said without emotion. The Root member brought his hands together once more and released the paper bombs that were hidden in the hallways behind the jinchūriki destroying said hallway. With the explosions, everyone will believe that this place would be Naruto's grave. The Root member began to relax and walked slowly towards the prone body. Without warning the Root member was sent flying back towards the opposite wall by an invisible force. Uzumaki Naruto stood up with orange chakra surrounding him his face becoming more feral and his eyes once blue now blood red. The Anbu was trained to not have emotions, to not be afraid, but he couldn't help it. For the first time in a long time, he felt a sliver of fear as he stared at the boy who was quickly being engulfed in the sinister chakra.

"What are you monster?" The Root screamed with more courage than he had. Drawing his kunai the Root charged the jinchūriki. In the blink of an eye Naruto disappeared only to reappear grabbing the older man's throat and lifting him up in the air.

"**You said it yourself. I'm a monster" **Naruto said in a demonic voice with a grin showing off his elongated canines. The Root's eyes widened as the Naruto grabbed his left arm and crushed it without hesitation. He screamed at the sudden pain and it only seemed to encourage the little monster even more. The last thing the Root saw was the monster's hand being placed on his chest wondering what he was planning. Naruto wit his hand on the Root's chest then pulsed pure chakra outwards literally exploding the helpless Root. Naruto merely stood there bathed in the blood of his enemy chuckling to himself.

"**That was refreshing….But I still want to have some more fun." **And with that Naruto/Kyubii crashed through the wall and ran on all fours as far as he can.

_Present_

"Oh my god." Naruto whispered as he fell onto his knees once again and vomited with the memories still fresh in his mind. "You damn fox, what the hell did you do to me?"

"**I save your ungrateful life brat, a thank you is what you humans generally do in this situation but since you are an idiot, I am not expecting much."**

"Go to hell!" Naruto shouted finally regaining his composure.

"**Now now, let us think about this before we say things we might regret." **

"Meaning what?"

"**Look at it this way. This might have been a legitimate mission. Or it could have been just a setup for Konoha to finally get rid of you."**

"You're lying! They would never do something like this."

"**Are you sure? True you saved the village against the Sand jinchūriki, but at the end of the day a monster is a monster eh brat?" **The fox knew he only sowed the seeds of doubt in the boy, now it was time to watch how he would react.

"What am I supposed to do now? Go back to Konoha?"

"**Why would we do something as foolish as that? How about we go away and I will help you get stronger. After all, that is what you really wanted in the first place, to find your precious friend no?" **Naruto flinched at those words. Some of the things he said made more sense than the other ideas running through his head.

"Alright, we will do it your way. But don't think I am letting you out because you are helping me."

"**Idiot! If you want me to help you, you better be willing to give me something I want." **Kyubii roared, quickly losing his temper.

"Heh I guess this is what they mean by deals with demons, alright you damned fox what do you want?"

"**Deals with demons? I like that, I won't ask for you to release me from you because knowing you, you will screw it up and kill us both. You see my cage, I want you to let me out of it. And look at it this way, with me out of my cage you can have more of my power making you far more stronger." **The Kyubii could not help but show all his teeth in a smirk that unsettled Naruto.

"Alright you have yourself a deal." Naruto said with a sigh. And so Naruto slowly uncoiled the lock on the Kyubii's cage. Quick as a flash the Kyubbi reached out grabbed Naruto in his giant claw.

"**I think you are one of the only human's alive that would be stupid enough to trust me. But, a deals a deal. I may not look like it but I still have a sense of honor. I will help you…..partner." **Kyubii reluctantly released Naruto and stared at him, waiting.

"Thanks I guess….partner. So what's first?"

"**Let's go to that village down there and see if we can get you some new clothes first…the things you are wearing are an eyesore and I can only stand so many years of it." **Kyubii stated seriously.

"It's not like I had a choice! This was the only stuff that I could get from the stores that weren't rags. But I guess you got a point. If I am going to start a new life a new look wouldn't hurt."

"**Then start moving boy, we have a long road ahead of us." **And with that the boy came back to reality and walked off towards the village.

_Konoha_

There were mixed emotions when the village learned of the death of Uzumaki Naruto. Some were distraught at the loss, while others were overjoyed with finally being rid of the pest. Years of looking at him, knowing what he was, watching him destroy property with his pranks could be tolerated so much. As for the others the Konoha 11, well now 10, several of the sanseis, Iruka, the Ichiraku Ramen owners, Shizune and the Hokage felt the loss of their hyperactive comrade.

"I can't believe he's gone" stated Shikamaru, the usual layabout unable to contain his sadness. His friend Choji sitting next to him with a sullen face merely nodding in response and Ino sitting on the other side freely crying.

"Maybe Sakura-san was wrong and Naruto is still alive." Hinata quietly said with tears in her eyes sitting next to her teammates and her cousin Neji. Everyone looked at the Hyuuga heir with sadness and pity in their eyes.

"Hinata….." Whatever Kiba wanted to say, was suddenly stopped, he simply didn't have the heart to say anything at the moment. Naruto was his friend and rival, after Sasuke left the village he felt that he failed his friends. And now that Naruto was gone that feeling was magnified.

The next day arrangements were made for a funeral. The grave was simple and small. Since Naruto did not have any family there was no one to stand at his grave to receive condolences or to give a eulogy. Everyone openly cried, even the mysterious Shino who hid his face could not stop his body from trembling from the grief. Lee was vigorously wiping his face as if crying was the most unyouthful thing to do even though he was failing miserably. What was most odd and some of the visitors noticed were the fact that even though she was crying, Sakura looked more angry than sad.

"What was that idiot thinking running off alone? You promised Naruto…remember a promise of a lifetime? How are you going to keep that promise now that you are dead? How are you going to be Hokage now?" That last part Sakura said a little louder than the rest as she finally dropped to her knees and sobbed. Sakura would have never admitted it, but Naruto was a friend and someone precious to her. It seemed that everyone she cared about was going to places that she couldn't follow.

"Sakura-" Tsundade wanted to say something but lost her courage. First Niwaki, then Dan, and now Naruto, it seems that another future Hokage has died before realizing his dream Tsunade thought with a deep sadness. As flowers were placed on Naruto's grave other items were placed on top as well. Teuchii and Ayame placed an empty ramen bowl, Hinata being supported by Neji placed a healing balm she gave to Naruto during the Chunin exams. Ten Ten placed some kunai, she didn't know Naruto well but she would still miss him. Choji placed a bag of barbeque chips and Shikamaru placed a shogi piece with the kanji knight printed on it with the rest of the offerings. For a brief moment there was silence only to be broken by those still crying.

There were few who came for the service, but the ones that were absent and should have been there were Kakashi and Jiraiya. Kakashi stood before the monument near training ground seven. Kakashi could not face it; he was a failure as a sensei. Less than a year and he lost two of his students.

"I am sorry sensei. I couldn't protect him when he needed me the most." Said a remorseful Kakashi thinking about all those who he cared about dying before their time.

In Naruto's apartment stood a meditative Jiraiya. Even though he was the one who said Naruto was gone, he still held doubt that everything was what it seemed. It was odd that they would be attacked by four Sound-nin in a compound that clearly was empty for some time. It was odd that the moment Naruto was separated from the group explosions went off and their opponents just decided to run away. It was even odder that for a brief moment he felt the Kyubii's chakra flare then all of a sudden disappear miles away, that was clearly not normal. With more questions than he wanted Jiraiya decided to leave Konoha and head back to the Land of Wind. If anything else he was going to find his godson's body and bring it home. You could say it was blind faith, but Jiraiya felt that Naruto was still alive somewhere and he was going to find him.

A/N: That was fun...so I was watching Metalocalypse where they level the Amazon...wow that was a brutal episode


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...even though that would be awesome if I did**

_Getting Down To Business_

_In Whirlpool Country_

_Three Month After Naruto's Funeral_

Kasuga Akira lived as an accomplished Sound-nin. Orochimaru saw value in his ability and with his help only became stronger and more dangerous. Akira's ability allowed him to open pores in his skin and release an invisible, scentless poisonous gas. All it took was for Akira to open his pores and in a matter of minutes a slow paralysis would affect his opponent where eventually they would die. Even with all that for him, why was he having so much trouble with this brat.

In front of Akira stood a blonde haired, blued eyed boy no older than fifteen wearing a leaf headband. It has been over an hour and the boy seemed to not be affected by the poisen. In fact the longer this fight the more tired he was becoming.

"Who the hell are you?" Akira asked the unknown assailent.

"I would tell you, but as a friend of mine would say…it's too troublesome." And with a smirk the boy rushed with a kunai. The boy's continuous attacks forced Akira's back to a large rock formation. Akira tried to react with his own kunai, but the boy skillfully dodged the attack and forced his kunai into Akira's right hand pinning it to the stone. This was followed by the boy grabbing Akira's kunai and used it pin his left hand.

"This could all end if you tell me where Uchiha Sasuke is." The boy said quietly.

"If I tell you will you let me go?" Akira was scared and the the pain in his hands was only increasing with each passing moment.

"Who knows?" The boy said indifferently backing up slowly watching the Sound-nin closely.

"Alright, I'll tell you whatever you want to know." For the next 45 minutes Kasuga Akira told this Konoha shinobi everything he knew. From Orochimaru's secret hideouts, to contacts Orochimaru had been using in other countries.

"Thanks for the information." With that, Naruto pulled the kunai pinning Akira's left hand and in one swift motion slit the man's throat.

"**Congratulations you just made some good money with this 287,000 bounty. By the way that was pretty cold Naruto" **Kyubi saw the entire fight and even he was impressed with Naruto's growth.

"He was an enemy of Konoha, and besides, I am running low on some things and this is the only way." Naruto felt sadness in ending a life, but it was unavoidable. Naruto needed the world to believe that he was dead and the less people knowing the truth the easier things would be. For the three months Naruto had been training under the Kyubi he changed drastically. Instead of his orange jumpsuit, Naruto changed into a mesh shirt with a loose long-sleeve shirt over it. On top of that was a red with black trimming overcoat that reached down to his knees, and sleeves only reaching to his elbows. He also wore black pants and sandals worn traditionally by all shinobi. Camping in the outdoors darkened his skin and caused his once bright blonde hair to look darker. His days spent training toned his body making him look more muscular. Finally, with the time the Kyubi had been let out of his cage allowed his chakra to mix with Naruto's even more causing changes. His eyes kept its cerulean blue but looked more feral. And his trademark whiskers became more defined. When Naruto visited any villages usually worked as a mercenary for hire or a bounty hunter gaining money and experience.

"By the way, you insisted we stopped by Uzushiogakure but you never said why."

"**The village has long been destroyed, but there might still be something of use there. After all, the famous Uzumaki clan once lived there." **The Kyubi couldn't help but smirk know what was about to happen.

"WHAT! What the hell did you just say?"Naruto was pretty sure that he heard the Kyubi telling him his clan once lived in Uzushiogakure.

"**Quiet down brat. Yes the Uzumaki clan once lived in the Whirlpool Country, your clan was famous for their fūinjutsu. It was because of this that the village was destroyed during the war and any survivors scattered across the world." **Naruto just stood there letting all of this sink in. **"I bet you are curious to know who your parents are…eh Naruto?" **The Kyubi at this point was just teasing Naruto.

"You….You know who my parents are?" Naruto spoke softly in disbelief.

"**I won't tell you who your father is, but your mother was Uzumaki Kushina. You could say we knew each other once upon a time." **

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"**I won't tell you. But we should take that Kasuga along with us and head out to Uzushiogakure."**

"Fine." Naruto said walking onwards. After reaching Uzushiogakure, Naruto looked at the once large village now ruins. Naruto did not know what to expect, but he would be lying if he was not disappointed. Walking through the village Naruto stopped in front of what may have been the largest building. Out of curiosity Naruto went inside and continued on down the rickety hallways. Naruto searched until he came upon a large room with the whirl symbol that could be found on many Konoha uniforms. Naruto neared the symbol reaching his hands out it. What he didn't expect was to feel a warmth running form te tips of his finger to his entire body. Suddenly a trapdoor opened up leading underground.

"**Heh, it seems that it opened because of your blood boy." **Kyubi commented getting excited. Naruto traveled down the passage way until he came upon a small rom littered with books. Upon closer examination Naruto realized that the books and scrolls were journals, experiments, and even more intriguing various sealing techniques.

"These could be useful." Naruto said with his heart pumping in excitement. After looking around the village once more, and taking some scrolls, Naruto walked away.

A/N I would like to thank anyone who has been reading my story...see ya guys next time!


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys here is another chapter for you. I would like to do a shout out to the father's out there for those who encourage and inspire the future.**

**As for the readers out there, please review. I don't know what you guys like if you don't talk and I am open for input if you guys want some stuff added to the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...I do in my dreams, but apparently that doens't count**

_Reunion_

_Early Hours in Konoha_

Tsunade had spent the better part of yesterday working on trade agreements with Sunagakure and that drained her. She wanted nothing more than to start drinking her sake but Shizune found her secret hiding place and told her if she ever wanted it back that she would have to finish her work. Several hours later and spending numerous times holding back the desire to bash h throw her aid out the window Tsunade finished all the paperwork. Now that all that work was done she planned to spend the day to drink some tea, gamble, and not worry about anything related to her job. Of course as well all know, some wishes are never granted. As Tsunade was looking at the day's paper a messenger frog appeared in a puff smoke right on top of her desk. There was only one person who would have sent her a message in this manner.

"What did Jiraiya send you here for?" Asked the Hokage.

"I have a message for you from Jiraiya-sama. For your eyes only." The little frog answered. Tsunade nodded and looked pointedly at all present. In one group Shizune, and the Anbu hidden within the room filed out of the room. Tsunade opened the letter and began to read Jiraiya's letter.

_Tsunade, I am writing to you because of some news that you might be interested in. _The letter started. Still skeptical Tsunade read on reaching blindly for her cup of tea. What it said next caused the Hokage to drop her cup smashing it on the floor.

_I think our little Gaki is still alive. I have been hearing rumors all over outside of the Fire Country of a teenage boy wearing a leaf headband with blonde hair. That I know of there are not many people with that description. It could be nothing, but since we never recovered Naruto's body I rather hold hope that it could be him. For now let us keep this a secret between the two of us. I would rather not get everyone's hopes up for nothing. I will send you another messenger frog once I get for solid proof_

_-Jiraiya_

Could it be true? Naruto was alive and out there. If that was true then why hasn't he returned to Konoha? Tsunade was hopeful to find if what Jiraiya said was true. Yet she was scared of what would cause Naruto to not return to the village. Tenderly Shizune knocked on the door to gain entry.

"Tsunade-sama may we come back in?" The aid asked. Tsunade nodded towards her calmly.

"Yes Shizune you may come back in." She then turned towards the messenger frog that had yet to leave. "Please tell him to keep me updated on what he finds" Tsunade requested. The frog nodded then left.

"Tsunade-sama is everything alright?" Shizune asked seeing how the woman sitting across from her could not hide the worry on her face.

"No. Nothing is wrong Shizune." Tsunade clearly lied, but Shizune did not make a move to pursue the issue further.

_Sunagakure_

Naruto had spent the past week under the hospitality of Gaara and his siblings. The three Sand siblings thought Naruto was dead and were overjoyed to see that he was very much alive. They were more than willing to give Naruto a place to stay even if it was odd that he strictly forbade them from telling anyone about him. During the day Naruto would hide in his room meditating and communing with the Kyubi. At night however, he would train without stopping sometimes with Gaara as a sparring partner. Since Naruto's time of training he increased his repertoire of techniques and his fighting capaibilities along with it. He was now able to use Wind and Lightening nature chakra techniques. He soon learned that any experience the shadow clones gained went straight back to Naruto. With that in mind he learned a year's worth of training in the four months he has been gone.

It was a sunny day when Naruto decided on a whim to leave his sanctuary during the day. He came upon the training grounds watching the three siblings overseeing the training of some academy students. What caught Naruto's eye was how Gaara was giving a private lesson to a young brown haired girl. She didn't look like anyone special wearing her blue-green blouse, a white sleeveless shirt underneath, a short yellow scar around her neck and a black skirt. But Naruto could just see the faint blush that the girl had whenever Gaara grabbed her hands to show her how to use the rope weapon, the Jōhyō. Naruto couldn't help but smirk at this new Gaara. It has been less than a year and he could see the drastic change Gaara and honestly, it was for the better. Gaara noticed Naruto's presence and waved him over. Walking forward Naruto noticed how many people stopped what they were doing and staring at the newcomer with the leaf headband casually walking up to Gaara.

"Naruto…..I would like you to meet Matsuri, my student." Gaara said with a hint of pride in his voice. Matsuri bowed to Naruto and the two exchanged pleasantries. They were exchanging idle chatter when something caught Naruto's notice. In the crowd of gathering onlookers there was a man in the back looking at Naruto with anger. No. His focus was more focused on Naruto's headband.

"Is there a problem?" Naruto asked the man. At first the man didn't say anything until he broke under Naruto's gaze.

"My name is Jinta and you damn Leaf killed my brother." Naruto stared at the man at first confused, but he understood soon enough. Gaara stepped forward about to confront the man

"If you are referring to what happened during the Chunin exams, you shouldn't be pointing blame so righteously. If you don't remember, it was help from you Sand that Orochimaru killed our Hokage." Naruto said with his anger slowly rising. "Look. Our villages have formed a peace and I would really hate it if that broke down because of bad feelings. How about you and I have a little match. After that we can move on our way without regrets." Naruto suggested. There was an excited murmur among the crowd at the prospect of a little match. The man would like nothing more than to beat some respect into the brat, and now that there was a growing crowd it would be most pleasurable.

"Alright, but don't go crying when I beat you senseless." As Naruto Jinta faced off, they couldn't help but notice how much larger the crowd was. Other Sand shinobi, academy students, and even some civilians watched with much anticipation. As the match began Naruto ran towards his opponent going in for a punch to the face that was then blocked. The two exchanged attack and block back and forth. When everyone thought it was a stale mate Jinta threw some sand into Naruto's eyes. With Naruto's temporary blindness, Jinta backed up and attacked.

"Fūton: Shinkūha" Jinta blew out razored winds towards Naruto. Jinta knew he this wouldn't kill Naruto, but it would beat him and show that he was nothing more than a brat.

"Hanshateki Seirei!" Naruto lifted his left hand which began to give off a blue light towards the wind attack where it was absorbed. There were gasps among all the onlookers. Naruto looked Jinta in the eyes clearly upset at the cheap shot and lifted his right hand glowing blue once again. What shocked everyone was that from Naruto's right hand came out the exact same attack that he absorbed. Jinta was not quick enough to dodge the attack and took the brunt of the force which knocked him on his back. When he stood up he was pissed off at Naruto for embarrassing him.

As Naruto slowly walked towards Jinta he then disappeared in an orange flash appearing right behind him. Naruto then kicked Jinta in the back of his knee forcing him down where Naruto then round house kicked him in the face knocking him out.

"Hiraishin no Jutsu. No hard feelings." Naruto said with a smirk as he walked away from the unconscious Sand-nin. Many of the onlookers were impressed with how quick and skillful this very young man was. As for many of the female spectators, they were enamored with this mysterious boy who was a cool loner super elite which made him only that much hotter.

"**Why didn't you use rasengan? That could have saved us a lot of time"** Kyubi asked.

"I wanted to beat the guy not kill him." Naruto said, clearly not really up to talk to his live in anger stricken furball. As Naruto walked into his room, he noticed that someone was in the room with him.

"Long time no see Gaki." Naruto turned towards the speaker already knowing who it was. There standing in front of him stood Jiraiya. "You and I need to talk."

"Hey, how have you been Ero-sennin?"

**Jutsus**

**Fūton: Shinkūha (Wind Release: Vacuum Wave)**

**Hanshateki Seirei (Reflecting Spirit)**

**Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)**

**A/N: That was fun...I have yet to figur eout how far I want to take this story so any suggestions would be awesome and I will definetly give out the credit where it is due. Bye for now**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's a new chapter for you guys**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its affiliations**

_Complicated Explanations._

_Sunagakure- Naruto's Room_

"So now that we are alone. Do you mind telling me what are you doing here? How did you get out of Orochimaru's lab? How did you learn the Hiraishin no Jutsu?" Jiraiya asked in rapid succession.

"Uh…I am here to rest before I move on to my next destination. I got out of that lab because the Kyubi decided that me dying wouldn't help it in survival. I learned the Hiraishin no Jutsu when the Kyubi told me how the fourth Hokage used it, and since I have lightening nature chakra that I could probably pull it off." Naruto answered shrugging as if his answers were common knowledge.

"Idiot boy" Jiraiya said as he swept the young man into a hug which Naruto returned. "So what else have you been doing since your little training trip?" Jiraiya asked after some time passed and the two released each other from the embrace.

"No, nothing really. I just have been training." Naruto knew it wasn't the full truth, but considering who he was talking to it was better to not let out to much information. Naruto sat down on his bed and Jiraiya told Naruto how every one of his friends were broken at the information that he was dead. How his funeral was quiet but the people that mattered showed up. Naruto was touched that at the people in his life and was glad that they were a part of his life. A part of him wanted to go back to Konoha just to reassure his friends, but knew better than that. He remembered how the Anbu attacked him, and he was definitely sure that going back so soon would cause trouble.

"So now that I know you are alive, do you think we can go back to Konoha together? I know a handful of people that would be happier than nothing to see you alive and well. "Jiraiya said, really staring at how much Naruto changed over the four months' time that has passed.

"No." Naruto said immediately causing the Sannin to raise his eyebrow. "The reason why I am traveling and training is because I don't trust Konoha at the moment. Those four Sound-nin that we fought back then at the lab….they were actually Konoha Anbu, I could tell from their masks." This revelation surprised Jiraiya but then it made so much sense why Naruto never tried to return to Konoha. He knew that the young boy had an unrequited crush on that Sakura girl. He knew that Naruto wanted nothing more than to become Hokage so that everyone acknowledged him. Only a serious reason like the Anbu attacking you would be enough to keep you in hiding.

"So you just plan to train until when? Sooner or later you will have to return to Konoha." Jiraiya said trying to convince Naruto that it was in his best interest to stop running.

"I-I know that. But I need to get stronger and I need to bring Sasuke back. I'll come back to Konoha, but I need to get stronger before I do that. And I will definitely be Hokage when that time comes. "Naruto said with that cheeky grin he always had and it was a genuine smile. It all made sense now to Jiraiya. He was still hell bent on bringing back the Uchiha. He still had his dreams of being Hokage. He just wants to get stronger, and who was he to deny him.

"Alright then, if you still want to do what you plan to do…then I am coming with you to help you." This proclamation surprised Naruto to say the least. "I got some things to teach you anyways, this wouldn't hurt no?"

"Alright I guess you are going to be my new sensei. By the way how did you find me?" With their reunion and their catching up, Naruto never figured out how the old man found him.

"I had to be in sage mode to find you…..it was a real pain but it turned out well." Naruto had to do a double take on this.

"What's sage mode? And can I learn it." Naruto's childlike features started to shine and Jiraiya couldn't help but laugh at the boy's enthusiasm.

"Sure I can teach you if you can answer me some things. First of all I saw how you absorbed that Jinta's attack and then redirect it. How did you do that?"

"On my travels I found some scrolls belonging to the Uzumaki clan. I took these scrolls and I learned some new fancy techniques." Naruto then pulled up his sleeves showing seals written on both his wrist. On the left was incarceration, and on the right obliteration. Naruto then showed Jiraiya the scroll he used to learn this. Naruto even showed a sealing scroll that is supposed to help Naruto get better control of the Kyubi's chakra, to his tenant's disgust.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu" Jiraiya then summoned a frog. The frog looked like a grandpa with his white hair with a beard and bald spot. Naruto didn't know why Jiraiya summoned such a small creature but stayed silent."

"Jiraiya-boy how has it been? What can I do for you?" It was then the elderly frog noticed Naruto…..he almost mistaken the boy for Minato the fourth Hokage, but he was too young.

"Fukasaku-sama I was wondering if you would not mind helping my young friend. I think it would be helpful if he learned senjutsu." Fukasaku looked at the boy and then back to Jiraiya not sure on what exactly was going on.

"You think he can handle it Jiraiya-boy?" The old frog asked.

"Yes…..ye is think he can. I believe in him, I even believe he has the potential of surpassing me if he was serious" Jiraiya said in all seriousness. Naruto couldn't help but feel happiness at the man's words.

"Alright then, I will make the preparations for him to stay with us on Mount Myōboku to train to be a sage." And with that the elderly frog left.

"Naruto, I want you to stay put until Fukasaku-sama comes back to take you. I have to run some errands so I will see you soon." Jiraiya then stood up, and with one last look at Naruto left his room.

_Several Days Later in Konoha_

Much has changed in the short time since the funeral. Sakura and Ino became apprentices to Tsunade to learn Medical Ninjutsu. Neji and Hinata became closer being training partners. Shino was studying his clan that he would one day take the seat as head, while studying the various insects that helped his clan. Shikamaru being a Chunin had new duties that took much of his time from his friends. Ever since the failed Retrieve Sasuke mission Choji has been spending time training on mastering Chō Baika no Jutsu. Kiba had been spending his free time helping in the clan kennels raising a fresh litter of puppies. Ten-ten was learning how to forge tempered steel from the local blacksmith increasing her personal arsenal. As for Lee…well Lee hasn't changed much. He still would be seen daily doing laps around Konoha…..on his hands…..no one has yet to comment. It was during one of these downtime days that Tsunade was in her office sipping her sake as she looked over some papers for current available teams. Ever since Team seven became two men down it has been hard to rotate them into a regular team. All of a sudden Jiraiya walked din through her window as casually as he would through the door.

"Jiraiya…..you do know that I have a door. You should be like every other normal person and go through that." Tsunade said with a tick mark growing on her forehead.

"Oh come now Tsunade that's no fun." Jiraiya showing off is supposed funny side.

"Sakura, Ino, Shizune …..Please leave the room. I don't want any witnesses." Tsunade growled not even looking at the three females as they exited the room quickly. "Now, what news have you got for me? It must be important if you came here personally." Tsunade said her scowl now gone and her acting facade dropped.

"Naruto is alive. He has been traveling and training to get stronger in order to find Sasuke. Before you ask, no he refuses to return to Konoha until he is stronger. Naruto claims that the day that we wen to Orochimaru's lab, the Sound-nin that we fought were actually cloaked Konoha Anbu." This news disturbed her, she would have known if Anbu were moving independently from her orders. Except for that one group she realized. _Damn you Danzo and your Root_. Tsunade didn't know what Danzo's motives was, but this was clearly something troubling. For the meantime she would only observe him, she didn't have evidence and it would look bad if she arrested an elder of the council. She just would have to wait and see.

"I am assuming Naruto is safe and he has plans to continue his training?" Tsunade asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes. I have sent him to Mount Myōboku to learn senjutsu. I will pop in there once in a while to watch him, but I think it would be best if I continued investigating Akatsuki." Tsunade agreed on Jiraiya's decision and only hoped, no wished that Naruto would return soon.

"Watch over that boy, and tell him if he dies again I will be very disappointed with him." Tsunade and Jiraiya shared a laugh at that off color joke, but considering there wasn't much to laugh about lately the two needed it. With that Jiraiya left through the window…..again. "You can come in now Sakura." Sakura came into the office with a look on her face like she was caught stealing Tsunade's secret stash. "How much did you hear?" The Hokage asked the Pink haired girl. Tsunade knew that this was going to be a headache in the future, but might as well deal with it now.

"Only that Naruto is alive and that he is learning senjutsu at a place called Mount Myōboku. And that Naruto was almost killed by Anbu" Sakura said sheepishly. So basically everything Tsunade thought.

"Keep it a secret and tell no one." Sakura wanted to object at first, but knew better than to argue.

_Mount Myōboku_

"Naruto-boy you have to learn to control the natural energy that is around us." Fukasaku told Naruto as he tried to sit on a stone slab on top of a spire. Naruto failed and fell plummeting done towards the earth. Lucky for him Fukasaku caught him with his tongue and brought him back up towards the tip of the spire.

"DAMNIT YOU TONGUE IS GROSS AND SLIMY…..AND SERIOUSLY WHAT IS WITH YOU DIET HERE? I MEAN REALLY BUGS! EVEN RAMEN COULDN'T MAKE THAT STUFF TASTE BETTER!" Naruto's temper was flaring up along with the stress of the training. It was nonstop eating bugs followed by trying to absorb nature chakra only to be bopped on the head and now he was being bungeed on a frogs tongue. It was too much.

_This boy's priorities are serious messed up. _Fukasaku thought with a sweat drop.

_Somewhere in the Land of Grass_

A heavily full body armored man with the bottom half of his face covered wearing a Stone headband lay floating in the air as something was being extracted from him. After the last of the energy was sucked out he fell to the ground lifeless. Behind the prone dead body stood a giant statue with nine eyes with only one with a pupil. On it fingertips stood holograms of nine people with black cloaks with red clouds on them. Opening his eyes to reveal them to have a ripple like pattern with purple irises and sclera one of them finally spoke.

"Abstraction and resealing of the Gobi completed. Now on to the next target."

**Jutsu **

**Hiraishin no Jutsu **

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) **

**A/N: Well there ya go another chapter done...so here is a little request for you guys please review I need to know how you folks feel. Also even though the tag says adventure and drama I want to eventually implemnt some pairings and what not. So let me know if there is a specific pair or would you like more fights something like that. Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Quick Shoutout to Namikaze541 in helping me figure out what I needed for my story**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...but to be fair , how awesome would that be if I did**

_Changes_

_Mount Myōboku_

It has been a year since Naruto started his training in senjutsu. In that time Naruto has mastered it and was praised by the mountains inhabitants for even surpassing Jiraiya. Naruto wanted it to go all the way to his head but decided that he would rub it in the pervy-sage's face later when he saw him. During one of his days relaxing Naruto was walking side by side with Fukasaku who told him that he wanted to see how much stronger he could get.

"Naruto-boy, you have really become quite the admirable shinobi and sage. Honestly I thought we could never figure out how we could have you absorb natural energy without me and Shima's help, but you did. To think you could use shadow clones like that is quite inspiring. We will have to remember that in the future I think." The elder frog said to Naruto who was too busy to smiling from the praise to notice that they walked all the way to the hall full of frog statues.

"So what did you plan for us today?" Naruto asked when all of a sudden the two disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_Land of Snow_

Naruto and Fukasaku appeared in front of Shima who had summoned them to where they were.

"Naruto-boy, you have learned all that we could teach you about senjutsu. Now it is time for you to get out there and gain the much needed experience. Since you are in the Land of Snow, you can learn how to survive in such a hospitable land. And do not worry about Jiraiya, he was the one who suggested this and that reminds me." The elder frog then produced a tag with some writing on it to Naruto who took it in confusion. "This tag will allow Jiraiya to find you wherever you go so no worries. And with that we will go…..have fun Naruto-boy." With that being said the two frogs disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Wa-wait you damn frogs! What do you mean I have to learn to survive here? Are you insane! Damn that ero-sennin I'm gonna get him good next time I see him." Naruto grumbled as he walked away trying to find the closest village.

_One Week Later In The Land Of Iron_

Naruto was able to travel quickly thanks to being in Sage mode and was able to find passage out of the Land of Snow. During one of Naruto's travels in sage mode Naruto felt a person coming towards him in a rush. At first Naruto ignored it and continued walking, that was until a bolo came towards his body which forced him to jump out of the way onto a nearby tree.

"Not bad." A shinobi wearing an Amegakure headband called to Naruto. "My name is Gata of Akatsuki and you are coming with me Uzumaki Naruto!" At first Naruto was surprised at the man's proclamation. Where has he heard of Akatsuki before…..then he remembered that day Uchiha Itachi and that grey looking guy with the giant sword tried to take him.

"You are with Akatsuki?" Naruto asked skeptically. In all honesty this Gata guy didn't look much and with his sage mode Naruto could tell the guy was definitely someone to worry about.

"I-I will be once I capture you! We were given orders to get information on people like you, but if I were capturing you then I would get the praise and the power….and the recognition that I deserve!" Naruto was pretty sure the guy was just a wanna be. If that was the case Naruto might as well deal with this guy and move on. There was no need to have his life more complicated than it already was. Dropping his bag, Naruto got in a fighting stance. Naruto ran towards the man forming a Rasengan in his right hand. Gata started to form seals with his hand, Naruto was able to tell from the seals that it was going to be a fire technique.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu" Gata blew a giant fire ball from his mouth towards Naruto.

"Hanshateki Seirei" Naruto said as he lifted his left hand absorbing the fireball while he still continued running towards Gata with Rasengan in hand. As Gata tried to run away from the oncoming attack he tripped over himself which allowed Naruto to plunge the spiral sphere into the man's chest. Naruto expected that to be the end of it however, Gata disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"A clone?" Naruto was surprised. Looking around Naruto could not find the man. After a snap of a twig Naruto looked up to see Gata diving down with a tonfa in hand. Naruto quickly dodges and righted himself up before he was attacked again. In a desperate move Naruto lifted his right hand and blasted the fireball that he absorbed earlier out towards Gata. Gata had no choice but to dodge the attack which Naruto was counting on. As Gata landed from his strafe from the attack he saw four chained chakra spears coming towards him. All four spears hit their mark, and it was not until the spears were in place that he noticed that the ends were connect to Naruto's body.

"You damn brat" Gata said trying to break free from this hold. It was then he noticed that with the chains in him he could not move his body nor could he mold charka. What the hell are these chains?

"Chakra chains, an Uzumaki clan special. You like?" Naruto taunted the man across from him.

**"Hey kid tag out, let me deal with him"** Kyubi asked Naruto in his head. At first Naruto was confused but since the Kyubi was actually being nice to him for the first ever, why not throw the fox a bone?

"Alright, but make it quick." Naruto said to the Kyubi. Closing his eyes then opening them, Naruto's eyes changed from blue to orange as he stalked his "prey." Gata was unsettled at the change of demeanor and struggled harder to get out of this hold. When Naruto finally walked up face to face with Gata, he grabbed the man's face and said in a deep voice.

**"Look into my eyes."** Unable to resist Gata did. The next thing he knew he was in a dark room with no walls that he could see. There was water on the floor, but he did not know what the source of the water was. When Gata finally turned around he came face to face with a full grown Kyubi.

"Wa-What the hell is this!" Gata screamed in terror as the Kyubi lunged at him. With a quick swipe of its claw Gata was thrown twenty meters away. Before he could even move the Kyubi was once more upon him. And with a roar of triumph the Kyubi bit the man in half. The reality was that it was all in Gata's head in reality he was still staring into the red eyes of Uzumaki Naruto. When Naruto was finally back in control he released the chakra chains and watched as Gata fell on the ground his eyes, mouth, and nose bleeding profusely.

"Hey Kyubi, just what the hell did you do?" Naruto asked

**"I destroyed him body and soul. When you sealed him with those chakra chains you connected his mind with ours, and I just let him in my domain. And in my domain, I am lord."** Kyubi said pompously.

"So was that genjutsu then?"

**"Yes and no. Look more closely at his body."** When Naruto bent down to look at the dead man's body, besides bleeding from the head Naruto noticed that the right side bones of the man was broken and there was tearing in his midsection.

"So it was reality but not reality?"

**"More or less, when the mind believes what they see strong enough it can become reality."** Naruto was a little disturbed with the news but wouldn't complain about the results.

"Would I be able to use that even if you don't take over my body?" Naruto asked with more interest

**"Who knows"** The Kyubi was still teasing Naruto and sooner or later he would find out just how strong Kyubi is.

_That Same Night_

Naruto sat atop the tree of the forest watching the night sky. As he looked up at the moon Naruto could not help but let out a sigh of content. He liked nights like these. A cool breeze running through his face, the night sky beautiful with the numerous stars. It was nights like these that helped Naruto through his hard childhood. He would remember how the villagers would glare at him hoping one day that he would disappear. He remembered worst, he rememebred the one time he was lured in the alley by a villager who acted nice to Naruto. He remembered how the then six year old followed that nice villager only to be attacked by the three others hiding. He remembered how they beat him until he was unconscious. It was days like those that he wondered if his existence was truly wanted by anybody in the world. He always wondered, if the reason why he was an orphan was not because they were dead as he was told but rather because they never wanted him in the first place. It was days and thoughts like that, that made Naruto to go home to his small dingy apartment and cry until he had no more tears to shed. But then he would go to the village monument intop of the Hokage's statue head and watch the peacefulness of the village. He would stare at teh sky and watch the luminescent moon just stay were it was as if it was Naruto's personal ray of solitude. He would watch the stars as they shined briter than any light that he could see. It was calming, and it was what helped him during that time of his life.

Naruto slept in the forest, to say the least he was tired but just couldn't sleep. That was when Naruto's heightened sense from the Kyubi did he notice a presence. His nose picked up the slight scent of wood and earth, it was only one person. A snap of a nearby twig let Naruto know that whoever it was, was only twenty feet away from him. Either this person was really confident, or they were stupid. Naruto continued to listen. Another step, and then another, Naruto could hear the person's breathing now. He then heard the quickening heartbeat of whoever it was. He finally decided to move when he heard the ruffling of his bag. Using a Hiraishin no Jutsu to land behind the perpetrator and grabbed them by the shoulder. What he didn't expect was for whoever this person was to squeak.

"I'm sorry please don't hurt me!" Upon closer inspection Naruto realized that this little cretin was in fact a girl no older than nine. Her hair was dark brown and tied in a ponytail the end pointing upwards (A/N think of Anko). Her eyes were a dark jade green showing a scared personality who only knew what trouble she was in. She wore a maroon shirt that showed the stains of sleeping in filth. Her skirt was no better, once ago it may have been light blue, but through constant wear and tear it was a shade of sickly purple to brown. She had sandals, but it was obvious that they were falling apart.

"What do you think you were doing?" Naruto asked the little girl. At first she didn't want to answer but with Naruto's eyes looking at her so intently she just couldn't help it.

"I-I was looking for food or money. I'm sorry." The girl was close to crying and so Naruto released her from his grip.

"Why are you doing that, where are your parents?" At that question, Naruto noticed the hurt look the girl had, but quickly hid.

"They- They died two years ago. The village I came from tried to help me but since I was seven at the time they couldn't afford to feed an extra mouth and I was too little for work. So they gave me a small bag of food and some money and told me to find somewhere else to live." The girl looked back at this person in defiance but was taken back. In his eyes showed sadness and he merely nodded in understanding. She wanted to cry again, but for a different reason. She was tired of people always saying sorry or pitying her. But the way this guy just nodded in understanding, which was what she really wanted, a person who was just there.

"So…..you have been living here this whole time stealing and foraging then?" Naruto asked as the girl nodded in affirmation. Walking backwards Naruto then started to start a fire and put some vegetables together with some salted meat he was saving of later. The girl watched in interest as the boy started to cook a pot of water. After he was done cooking Naruto gave the girl a bowl of the soup.

"its Miso soup with veggies and salted pork, eat up." Naruto said with a smile which the girl returned. At first the girl sipped the soup, and then realized how good it was and started to slurp the soup up without restraint. Naruto chuckled at her action as the girl reminded of him when he got his hands of some good ramen. "I'm Naruto, What is your name?"

"Tsubaki Yakamori." She said slowly finally having her fill of the soup. Naruto knew it was against his better judgment, but deep down he just couldn't in good conscience leave this girl.

"Tsubaki-Chan, what if you came with me? I am a traveling shinobi and I could use the company." Naruto said smiling, but she was not smiling.

"I'm not going to open my legs to you." She said causing Naruto to blush from her vulgar thoughts.

"You idiot, that's not what I meant. Besides I like my girls older and more developed." Naruto said with a tick mark growing on his forehead. This seemed to catch the young girl off guard.

"Why?" At first Naruto was confused at the question, but when he looked at the girl, her eyes shone the experience of loneliness and rejection. She just couldn't deal with it anymore and she wanted so badly to hope that this complete stranger offered a place, a family even if that family was going to be dysfunctional. "Why would you want to take me with you?" She asked again.

"Tsubaki-chan, when I was a baby I lost my parents and I grew up alone. I never knew the love of family, growing up I never had a real friend. I was alone, I know that loneliness, that rejection that it feels like a quicksand. You try to get out of that hell, but you are alone and you struggle and that only causes you to sink even further. What I needed the most was a hand that would help me out. And I did get that help. I told myself that if I ever came across someone who shared my pain that I would be that lifeline that helped them out of that quicksand." This was the third person Naruto ever truly opened up to. First was Gaara, then Sasuke, and now he opened his life to this young girl. He didn't mind though, considering they could share something like this intimate about each other.

That was all Tsubaki wanted to hear from her savior. It wasn't that Naruto had a ulterior motive. He understood her pain and only wanted to show her a world where she was wanted, a place where she mattered to someone. Without any more hesitation, Tsubaki lunged forward and latched herself around Naruto's neck hugging him. She began to cry, all the hurt she endured, that she held in was coming all out without restraint.

"Yes, I want to go with you." As she backed away from Naruto she couldn't help but smile at the person who was about to change her world. With a smile on his face Naruto patted the young girl on the shoulder.

"Go to bed, we have a long road ahead of us."

**Jutsu**

**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**

**Hanshateki Seirei (Reflecting Spirit)**

**A/N: And now I'm tired**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**This takes place at the same time as the previous chapter**

_Questions_

_Konoha In The Afternoon_

After all this time, all the rookies have advanced forward. All of them recently completed the Chunin exams and were promoted promptly. There was much to celebrate with this big change. The ten teenagers spent their night as new ranks partying at a local barbeque restaurant eating to their hearts content enjoying each other's company. Even if they were having the time of their lives there was several who had a bitter sweet happiness.

"Hehe who would have thought that it would have taken us a year later to get to Chunin." Kiba said delighted. "Hell I remember that I couldn't even make it past the second round. You know what with me getting knocked out by Naru-" Kiba stopped himself realizing what he was about to say. At that the happy go lucky teens sobered up and grew quiet. Kiba looked away in shame at his carelessness. Hinata started to tear up at the mention of Naruto. Everyone respectively had a look of sadness, that is except for Sakura who was merely playing with her food as if she was bored.

"Sakura…..are you alright?" Ino asked her best friend.

"Eh? Yeah I'm just fine, just tired I guess." Sakura really wanted to tell everyone that Naruto was alive and well somewhere out there but she had direct orders from the freaking Hokage to keep it quiet. Everyone didn't understand Sakura's attitude, but only assumed it was her way of coping.

"I'm telling you, the kid just took Yoshiru in less than ten seconds. He was ridiculously strong, and he was kind of funny. I mean he kept saying Dattebayo every time he got excited and stuff." The group overheard two men sitting in a nearby booth talking. That catch phrase was what caught everyone's attention. Only one person in the world would ever say dattebayo. Getting up Shikamaru ran over to the man.

"Excuse me, what were you talking about?" He asked the man.

"Well. I am a traveling merchant and when I came to a small village in the Grass Country it seemed that they were having some trouble. From what I heard, a former shinobi by the name of Yoshiru was going around with a gang. You know how they are, go to a small village and extort them for "protection". Anyways, in comes in these two kids, one was a girl probably around ten and the other was a boy around your age. Next thing you know he does something with his hands creates ten more of himself and they all beat the gang up. And to top it all off Yoshiru and the boy face off and the kid beat him with this blue swirling ball in his hand."

From what everyone heard, the making copies of himself sounded exactly like a shadow clone.

"What do you think the blue ball is?" Kiba asked.

"It sounds like the rasengan." Sakura said excitedly. Even if she was ordered to stay quiet, she wouldn't technically be disobeying orders if someone told them and she only helped to fill in the gaps.

"Rasengan?" Ino asked.

"Rasengan is a technique using chakra molded into a spiraling ball. Jiraiya-sama taught Naruto that technique when the two went to find Tsunade-sama."

"Excuse me, but can you tell us what did this boy look like?" The usually stoic shinobi now excited Neji asked the traveling merchant . After thinking about it, scratching his chin the man answered with a smile.

"Well…he's about your height, blue eyes and blond hair. He was wearing sandals, black pants, a long sleeve black shirt with mesh under it, a red overcoat that reached down to his knees. And he also wore one of those leaf headbands. Oh, and he had some weird markings on his face. On his cheeks three on each side were these marks kind of like whiskers." The man said as he continued to smile. But grew confused when he saw the crowd gathered around them with looks of shock and disbelief on their faces. The only thing on their mind now was a simple question.

Was Naruto alive out there?

**A/N: Sorry if it was a short chapter but next chapter I will start with the 2 year skip from canon. Bye for now**


	9. Chapter 9

**In response to Kuichigo I created Tsubaki as a comedic sidekick to Naruto. I didn't intend to create this Kenpachi/Yachiru relationship but that is somehow it kinda turned into. That being said I won't make her super powerful, maybe above average :P But yeah I will most likely make her a competent companion being that Naruto and in a lesser extent Jiraiya taught her. Like I said their relationship is platonic and is more for the sake of character development. With that out of the way, anyone have a suggestion on what kinda fighter Tsubaki should be? weapons/genjutsu/nature chakra?**

**Splitheart1120: No,no she won't :P**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

_Unexpected Confrontations_

_In A Town In The Land of Waves_

Team 8 or better known as Team Kurenai were in the process of completing their latest mission. It was straight forward enough. All they had to do was escort a member of the traders guild from Konoha to the village they were currently in. It was uneventful, and in the words of Kiba, it was a complete waste of time.

"Seriously, we are Chunin for crying out loud. Why are we escorting this guy? The Hokage should have given this mission to a genin team." Kiba complained for the tenth time since morning.

"Kiba-kun, a mission is a mission. And as the older generation we have to show the younger generation that no mission is restricted to them." Hinata tried to placate the annoyed Inuzuka.

"Hinata, it would be best to ignore Kiba. Why is that? Because Kiba does nothing but complain." Shino told Hinata in a way for everyone to stop talking and just finish this mission. Truth be told he did feel annoyed as well, but he knew better to talk and as the heir to the Aburame clan, he was expected to act like such a person.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean Shino?" Kiba responded with Akumaru barking alongside its master. It was the that Shino and Kiba stared daggers at each other. Honestly with opposites like that, it was a wonder that these two were ever able to survive each other for two years as a team.

"Kiba, Shino, Hinata that is enough." The trio turned to their sensei. Yūhi Kurenai stood before her students since the two years she did not change much. She still wore red lipstick and purple eye shadow. She still wore a red mesh blouse with only a right sleeve with bandages covering her arms and legs.

"Sorry Kurenai sensei" The three Chunin said in unison with their heads bowed. The truth was that Kurenai wanted to finish this mission and get back to Konoha. She promised to meet Asuma at the dango shop and just spend quality time with each other. Even though the two tried to keep their relationship a secret and merely played it off as close friends when they were seen together, rumors went all over the place. Kurenai felt that the reason why rumors were going around was Asuma's student Ino and her gossiping. What she could tell was their relationship was the worst kept secret in Konoha.

"Now, now Kurenai-san let them complain, it is good to not bottle up their grievances." Genma the trader said. Honestly he was enjoying the light-heartedness of these teenagers.

"Why don't you three spend some free time in the town? We will meet up in two hours, and we can set off back to Konoha." Kurenai said wishing that her students would set off as their complaining was starting to give her a headache. The three nodded in agreement and ran off together to the market place.

Somewhere in the same town, two cloaked figures walked through the town without really looking at anything. The taller one had blonde hair, spiked and lightened after long durations in the sun. He wore traditional blue pants and sandals of a shinobi with bandages wrapped around his right leg. He wore a black short-sleeved shirt that was form fitting showing off his toned muscles. Over the shirt he wore an overcoat that was red with a black borderline. On his arms he wore fingerless gloves with orange armguards reaching up to his elbows. His companion was a girl shorter than him with brown hair tied back into a ponytail. She wore a purple skirt with black spandex shorts under them. She wore a normal short sleeved blue shirt that wrapped around the girl's body fittingly. Both wore a cloak over their clothes and hid their face from the crowd. All they were there was to buy some food and then leave, no need to stay any longer than necessary.

"Naruto-nichan, why can't we go to the larger villages instead of these small ones?" Asked the girl, clearly not impressed at the various wares the market vendors were trying to sell to the travelers in the town.

"Tsubaki-chan, we are trying not to be seen in public. The bigger the crowd the harder it will be for the two of us. Do you understand?" Naruto asked his companion. In the time that they spent together Naruto all but adopted Tsubaki as his little sister. She couldn't be happier about the family dynamic and did everything to make her big brother happy.

"I know, but this is so boring. It's not like you can't handle any troublemakers easily." Tsubaki responded with the hint of whining in her voice. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at her childish manner. Since he took her in, Naruto had to do some things in front of Tsubaki that he was not proud of. Living the life of a mercenary was not glamorous, and sometimes you had to get your hands dirty if you wanted to be paid. At first she was horrified at the not so pretty side of the shinobi life, but in time she got used to it and asked Naruto to teach her how to fight. He was reluctant at first, he would have preferred to keep her innocence as long as possible, but he knew sooner or later she would have to learn. Since he began her training she became quite a capable little scrapper.

In fact he remembered a job where Naruto was hired as a bodyguard for a short time. It was simple enough, guard the man at a restaurant as he did his not so legal business. Naruto hated himself for taking the job, but not many people would be willing to hire without question. Apparently being a shinobi without an allegiance to a village made you a questionable character. He remembered at the end of the deal that his employer saw Naruto with Tsubaki and how the man was definitely a pervert. He remembered how the man asked Naruto how much for the girl. And before Naruto could attack the man, Tsubaki lunged at the man and his associates and beat them to a bloody pulp. What made Naruto laugh about the whole ordeal afterwards was how Tsubaki looked at him with saucer eyes with tears brimming scared liked she did something wrong. And then she was all smiles when Naruto hugged her. Naruto filed away in his brain the fact that a deadly trigger for Tsubaki was sexual harassment, so if he wanted to survive her he better be good and shut his mouth.

"Don't worry Tsubaki-chan, we will be in and out of this town in a flash." Naruto reassured her with a smile. After a brief moment the girl started to giggle. Naruto was confused since he didn't really say anything funny. And he asked her why she was laughing.

"It's funny because you can literally do that. You know. Flash in and out of the town." Naruto started to chuckle at the young girls silliness.

"You are going to be the death of me." Naruto said as he patted the girl's head. They then walked onwards into the market place.

Hinata, Kiba, and Shino walked through the marketplace without much interest of the wares being sold. The trio did however buy some sweets for themselves, Kiba bought some jerky for Akumaru, Hinata browsed a book seller hoping to find something of interest, and Shino was able to find a medicine man that used live insects in his treatments which interested him for some reason. Even though it has been three years the three had been close to each other for the longest time. Hinata grew up well, growing out her hair, she however still had that quiet shy personality that she had yet to grow out of. Kiba grew out of wearing a jacket everywhere and merely was satisfied wearing black pants and black shirts. Akumaru grew to huge proportions allowing Kiba to ride on top of his companion. Shino didn't really change much. Well that wasn't true, the truth was that he hid his features in his hooded jacket all the time that no one really knew what he looked like now. It was apparently a touchy subject among the Konoha 10.

As the three was about to leave finding nothing of real interest, Akumaru and Kiba stopped with eyes wide with shock.

"Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked. He didn't respond, instead he turned around and started sniffing the air as if looking for something.

"Akumaru?" Kiba asked his dog companion who barked in some sort of confirmation. With that the two ran off with Hinata and Shino following close behind still confused on what was wrong with their teammate.

"Kiba, will you tell us what you are doing?" Shino asked. Kiba turned his head to look at his teammates and smiled.

"It's been two years, but I could never forget his scent." Hinata and Shino were still confused until their confusion turned into shock at his next words. "I could never forget Naruto's scent even if I wanted to." And with that, Team 8 sped up towards where the scent was heading out of the town.

Naruto walked outside of the town not really paying attention until he felt familiar presences coming behind him.

"Naruto?" Naruto knew that voice, he just didn't expect to see them so soon. Turning around Naruto came face to face with his friends of Team 8.

"Naruto-kun…." Hinata was on stuck between collapsing in tears and smiling. She thought Naruto was gone a year ago, but when she heard that merchant talking about a boy that was similar to Naruto there was a new hope born in her. And now they were face to face, he was so close that she could touch him. If she had the courage, she would have ran up to Naruto and tackled him in a tight hug never letting him go. At second glance Hinata started to blush while looking at Naruto. To Hinata, Naruto grew taller, even if he was clothed she could tell that he looked well-toned. As for his appearance, his skin and hair was a little darker as if he spent many days in the outdoors, and it looked good on him. In short Naruto was extremely handsome in Hinata's eyes.

"Hinata, Kiba, Shino. Long time no see." Naruto said with a half-smile. Team 8 expected Naruto to be different, but they didn't expect him to be a polar opposite of what he was two years ago.

"Naruto! Where the hell have you been, huh?" Kiba was overexcited in seeing Naruto, and all he would say was long time no see like he was on vacation. That ass he was going to beat him senseless for all the trouble he put everyone in.

"I can't tell you where I have been Kiba. And before you ask, no I don't plan on returning to Konoha anytime soon." Naruto's claim seemed to set Kiba off. All that pent up frustration, the helplessness he had to live with. It was for no reason because Naruto was alive and well, and all of a sudden he is trying to act so cool. Why wasn't the ass not excited, he should have more emotion at this type of reunion. Oh yeah, he was going to smack him good.

"Naruto, you will have to return to Konoha with us and I will drag your unconscious body back if I have to." Kiba yelled at the blonde.

"Look out below!" Everyone heard the scream, but it was Kiba who felt it. Before he could react, something hit him in the back forcing him to face plant. When he finally righted himself up, he noticed the girl that looked at the trio with a kunai in her right hand and anger in her eyes. "You will not be touching Naruto-nichan" The girl said.

"Nichan?" The three asked in surprise.

"Tsubaki-chan, please don't hurt my friends." Naruto requested of the girl, who stumbled a little bit at his comment. Turning towards them the girl them began to bow over and over saying sorry repeatedly. "As I have said. I am not coming back to Konoha anytime soon. Tsubaki-chan, let's go." And with that, Naruto grabbed the girl and the two disappeared in an orange flash. As Team 8 began to calm down Kiba was the first to speak.

"We have to get back to Konoha now."

**A/N: Tsubaki is a klutz nuff said**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys and gals I am back and I just finished a brand new chapter**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

_Coming Home_

_Konoha in the Afternoon_

"I'm telling you, we saw Naruto." Kiba tried telling his sensei and the Hokage for the third time. It has been over an hour since Team 8 returned to Konoha and went straight to the Hokage's office in order to tell her of the news that should have caused such a stir. And yet, the Hokage didn't look surprised or happy at all. Instead, she looked worried. Of all the emotions a person could have the last one they thought they would see was worry on the Hokage's face.

"Very-very good. You are all dismissed until further notice. I know you all plan to go to your friends and tell them the news that Naruto was really alive, but I want you all to make sure you are careful. If what you said was true, then there has to be a reason why Naruto hasn't returned to Konoha. I would prefer that the news that Uzumaki Naruto was out there alone not getting out father than the village's walls." Tsunade knew already that if news of Naruto being alive was to spread, then Danzo and his Root would try to get to Naruto again. Nodding in understanding, Team 8 left the office in a rushed walk. "Shizune, I would like to be left alone for a moment. I need to think of what I should do in regards to this matter."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." And with that the aid left the office, leaving Tsunade alone.

"You heard everything Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked the shadows where the white haired man stepped out of.

"Yes I heard, what do you suggest we should do now?" Jiraiya asked as Tsunade let out a restricted sigh.

"I think it is time that Naruto came back to Konoha. Since the news of him being alive will most likely spread quickly, I would rather have him within these walls instead of out there."

"And what if I was to travel with him?" Jiraiya asked with unease. He was still worried about the supposed involvement of the Anbu. Jiraiya and Tsunade spent much time in the past talking about the possibility that the Anbu were most likely were part of Root. A group that worked separately from the rest of Konoha, and in all intents and purposes held their allegiance to Danzo the elder. Jiraiya knew that there was no way that they could pin any evidence on Danzo and he was untouchable.

"No, we both know that you are already busy looking for information regarding Akatsuki. I prefer that Naruto not be put in more danger that he already is." Tsunade said as Jiraiya nodded.

"And the girl?"

"Jiraiya, you've met her several times before. In your opinion, can she be trusted?"

"I think, after all this time alone with Naruto, she can." Jiraiya said with a smile.

_Flashback _

_In the Land of Grass_

Naruto and Tsubaki walked along the river waiting for Jiraiya. All they knew was that a messenger frog came to them late last night saying that Jiraiya needed wanted to meet up with Naruto.

"Ne Naruto-ni, do you think Jiraiya-sama will like me?" Tsubaki was always conscious of new people, and the way Naruto talked about Jiraiya in such a high regard, it felt that the man was someone worth impressing.

"Tsubaki-chan, don't worry about it. The only person you need to worry about liking you is me." Naruto smiled at the younger girl. "Besides, Jiraiya is pretty nice so stop fretting."

"O-ok" Said the girl, but she still wasn't convinced.

"Yo Naruto!." The duo turned around seeing a man with white hair, a red vest with long sleeve mesh shirt under it. He looked more than happy to see Naruto.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto said as he ran over to Jiraiya.

"Ero-sennin?" Tsubaki asked looking expectantly behind Naruto.

"Yeah, I call him that because…..well he's a perv. He likes to spy on women in the baths and tells everyone who catches him that he was doing research." Naruto told the younger girl who started to glare at the older man.

"Oy Naruto, what's with you corrupting the mind of a young lady before she gets to meet me." Jiraiya told his godson grumbling.

"Heh, yeah right. Anyways, Ero-sennin I would like you to meet Tsubaki, you could say she is my little sister." Naruto said with pride in his voice.

"Oh, nice to meet you Tsubaki-chan. Naruto can we talk alone for a moment." Jiraiya asked as he began to walk away few feet. Naruto slowly followed as he looked at Tsubaki in a silent request to stay where she was.

"Do you mind telling me who that girl is and why is she traveling with you?" Jiraiya asked a little over protective of Naruto. And so Naruto spent the better part giving a short explanation of which she was, where they met, and how Naruto invited her to travel with him since she was all alone.

"You are too nice for your own good Naruto." Jiraiya said once he digested all the information. He couldn't help but to smile at the boy, he forgot how the kid would always go out of his way for someone who needed help. With pride in his eyes Jiraiya patted Naruto on the shoulder and led him back to Tsubaki who was still standing where they left her.

"There you two are, I was about to go and find you." Tsubaki said to the two males as they watched the girl as she tried to look tough but in reality was acting nervous around the renowned Sannin.

"Naruto, I think Tsubaki-chan should start her training if you really want her to travel with you. As you both know, the world is dangerous, even more so for two young kids like you." Jiraiya said trying to be reasonable as he saw that his words was frustrating Naruto.

"But Ero-sennin, she's too young and I don't want her to live a dangerous life like us." Naruto said his elderly brother side coming out. Jiraiya was touched at the boys' attitude but knew that Tsubaki could one day be in danger and if she didn't know how to defend herself it could be problematic.

"I understand how you feel Naruto, but we have to think of this realistically, and you know that you can't always be there to protect her if you are doing this. She has to eventually learn to stand on her own."

"But Ero-sennin-" As Naruto tried to say something else in his defense he was stopped by Tsubaki.

"I want to learn how to fight. I want to have my own way of a shinobi like Naruto-ni. I do not wish to become a burden to you Naruto-ni" Tsubaki said with courage in her voice. Both males looked at her both with pride in her eyes.

_You should be proud of yourself Naruto, to have someone who wants to be just like you, you should feel honored. _Jiraiya thought as he saw Naruto letting out a restrained sigh.

"Alright you can learn." Naruto said finally.

"Tsubaki-chan I am going to train so you can be as strong as Naruto." Jiraiya said with a smile.

"Alright! Thank you Ero-sennin" Tsubaki said causing the man to face plant.

_Just great the girl is infected with Naruto's stupidity. _Jiraiya thought as he casually looked up to the sky as if asking some sort of divine spirit what he did wrong to get such cheeky students.

And so for the next two weeks that Jiraiya spent with the two he worked with them individually teaching them. With Naruto they spent time training him in his sage mode. It was fine that he became physically stronger and faster, but his body was still human and so it would still experience the wear and tear of continuous combat. The main goal for Naruto was to condition his body to be able to deal with the continuous stress that he put his body to. The second goal he had was to increase the effectiveness of his rasengan. Jiraiya had spent many hours helping Naruto in strengthening the rasengan and while putting more chakra into it causing it to grow. As for Tsubaki they spent the majority of their time teaching her the basics. Molding chakra, basics of kunai and shuriken combat, hand to hand combat, and how to mold charka to allow her to walk on water and on trees. She was a fast learner and always eager to learn. A part of Jiraiya thought it was because the girl wanted to live up to Naruto's expectations even if he didn't have any for her. She was eager to please and tried hard to keep up with her lessons. It was admirable to say the least.

In the time Tsubaki started her training. She learned many of the basics that were taught at the academy. She was also brand new techniques. It would seem that she had a proficiency in water natured chakra. With that in mind Jiraiya had spent much time helping her learn techniques using water and even though she learned many of the basic ones she was still having some trouble with more advanced ones. The problem was mainly because of her small chakra levels that she could not sustain such attacks. As such Jiraiya ordered the girl to meditate and to continue to try to mold her chakra to try and increase it.

Her exam, so to speak was having a sparring match with a shadow clone of Naruto. The two faced off in simple arm to arm combat. At first Naruto held back unsure of how to fight Tsubaki without hurting her. That soon changed when the girl slapped Naruto right in the face.

"Naruto-ni please take this seriously" Tsubaki said with a grin. Naruto couldn't help but grin back and finally started to attack her seriously.

_Present_

"The girl is trustworthy and a very capable kunoichi, even you would be impressed Tsunade." Jiraiya stated with a hint of pride in his voice. As he remembered how Tsubaki was able to trick Naruto with a combination of exploding tags and a well-timed water technique.

"Alright, then you get to be the one to drag Naruto and Tsubaki back to Konoha. And Jiraiya, the sooner the better." Tsunade said in a dismissal which Jiraiya took as he disappeared after she finished.

_Somewhere beneath Konoha_

"Danzo-sama I have news." A Root member said while kneeling towards his leader.

"What is it?" Danzo asked clearly not happy being interrupted in his thoughts.

"There has been news that Uzumaki Naruto is still alive and that he was recently spotted. Rumors are that the Hokage is planning to bring Naruto back to the village." The news surprised Danzo. Deep inside Danzo was happy with this news. This was going to be interesting.

_Somewhere In the Land Of Wind_

"Naruto-ni, why did ero-sennin tell us to meet him here so early in the day." Tsubaki asked while yawning. Last night Naruto received a messenger frog from Jiraiya telling the two to meet him near Sunagakure in the morning.

"I don't know Tsubaki-chan, but it must be important if he had to send a messenger neh?." Naruto didn't know why Jiraiya wanted to see them either but only came as asked. When Naruto felt the presence of a person walking up to them did he turn around seeing his godfather. "So Ero-sennin, why did you call us here so early in the morning." Naruto asked trying but failing to hold back his yawn.

"Naruto. Tsubaki. Tsunade has requested that you return to Konoha. We understand that you do not wish to return Naruto, since you do not trust Konoha, but please think of everyone back home. I am sure there are some who are more than interested in seeing you again. And you will be well protected within Konoha's walls. After all it was not after you left the country that they attacked." Jiraiya tried to logically beat Naruto in this and he knew he won this one. But clearly Naruto still wanted to argue his case.

"But-" Naruto never got to say what he wanted to say because Tsubaki interrupted him.

"Oh. I would love to see Konoha. Please Naruto-ni!." Tsubaki had heard stories of Konoha from Naruto and all the fun he had. Growing up in a small village and always being on the road seemed to tire her and she would love to have a brand new experience in this form. At first Naruto crossed his arms in defiance, but after staring at the saucer sized eyes Tsubaki was giving him he caved in. For some reason she knew what to do to get to him, he was starting to wonder if that puppy dog cute face she always gave Naruto to get what she wanted was just a trick.

"Fine" Naruto said with a sigh. This caused the girl to cheer running around excitedly. This caused Naruto to laugh at her since it was just a minute ago she was complaining being tired.

_Three Days Later_

_In Front of Konoha Gates_

The trio finally made it to their destination after three days of traveling with each other. Naruto was nervous. He hadn't seen his friends for so long that he was curious how they all were but at the same time afraid. He knew leaving everyone like that was not the best thing he could have done but it had to be done. He hoped that Sakura was doing alright. Thinking of her he felt the guiltiest. After the loss of Sasuke and then his supposed death, it might not have been the best thing to happen to her.

"Welcome home Naruto….Tsubaki." Jiraiya said to the two youngsters as they stared at the gates.

"Yeah…..home sweet home." Naruto said as he took his first step back into Konoha.

**A/N: So this was my longest chapter to date...btw I am watching Clash of the Gods on History channel...its awesome**

**I am sorry that I shortened the fight between Tsubaki and Naruto but since it was a flashback...you know **

**And Now...The Song of the day that I was listening to while I was editing this...:Awake and Alive by Skillet**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**_For The Sake Of Everyone_**

_Konoha_

As Naruto and company stepped into Konoha there was a mix of emotions. For Naruto he looked apprehensive. For Tsubaki, she looked absolutely excited. And for Jiraiya, he was passive as he continued to look closely to at the two youngsters.

"Naruto?" Jiraiya asked after a few moments of silence. He was worried for the kid, since their meeting three days ago there were no smiles coming from him. Then what Naruto did surprised him yet made him laugh.

"I'm hungry. Tsubaki let's go to Ichiraku!" Said the blonde gaining his hyperactive personality for the first time in a long time. And as if on que the two younger ones of the group heard their stomachs growl as if in response to Naruto's exclamation.

_Those two are __definitely brother and sister. _Jiraiya thought as he couldn't help but smile. As they were walking down the street Naruto couldn't help but notice the many stares they were getting. No not them, the stares were directed more to him than to Tsubaki or Jiraiya. The stares that Naruto was getting were mix between shock, disbelief, and to his surprise smiles. To be fair the smiles were mostly coming from the female populace, but some of the smiles were men who still remembered how Naruto helped the village several times in the past. It was true that many still blamed the Kyubi for the hardships that they had in the past, but many became to come around in understanding that hating a boy for something not his fault was hardly fair. As if in defiance Naruto walked on until he jumped onto a pole and ran to the top.

"Everyone, Uzumaki Naruto is back!" Naruto screamed causing a collective pause throughout the village.

"What the-"Sakura heard the shout but couldn't believe it. In her complete surprise she dropped what she was doing and ran outside straight to the source of the scream.

Naruto stood where he was for a brief moment taking in the scene before him. In all honestly he couldn't trust everyone of Konoha for what they did to him throughout his life. But in all honestly he did miss his home. He missed the clatter of the village, he missed the smells especially Ichiraku's. What he missed most of all were his friends, and at that thought Naruto instinctively thought of a particular pink head that he hadn't seen for over two years. Looking up Naruto noticed the brand new face on the Hokage monument

_Heh, so Tsunade baa-chan's face is up there now. _Naruto thought with a smile. Upon jumping down from his perch, Naruto rejoined Tsubaki and Jiraiya only to hear his name being called from behind him.

"Naruto." Naruto heard the voice of someone who he hadn't heard in the longest time and a smile started to play across his face. There stood across from them was a young women wearing a red sleeveless top with black gloves, black boots, black shorts, a short pink skirt, and pink elbow protectors. And on her head was a Konoha head protector on red cloth on top of her pink hair. There standing in front of him was a fifteen year old Haruno Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, long time no see." Naruto tried to act cool and not betray how excited he was in seeing her again. Tsubaki wasn't fooled from the change of her brother and promptly tried to stifle her giggles. "How have you been Sakura-chan? You sure have changed over the years." Naruto said with a smile on his face.

"I have been doing fine. And yourself?" Sakura said as she walked towards him putting her hand on his shoulder. In truth Sakura couldn't believe how Naruto had changed over the years. His new look was more likeable compared to his past clothes. What she enjoyed the moand gave him a hug. "And this is to welcome you back." She whispered to him. Then out of nowhere Sakura planted a hard punch to Naruto's face causing him to fly ten yards away. Jiraiya and Tsubaki watched on in horror, terrified at the pink head.

"That's for making me cry because I thought you were dead! And for making me worried all this time not knowing where or how you were." Sakura yelled as Naruto clumsily stood up discombobulated. As she walked up to the stumbling blonde, Naruto saw her and tensed up for the next attack when she did the unexpected and gave him a hug. "And this is to welcome you back." She whispered to him.

"Naruto-nichan!" Naruto and Sakura broke apart turning around to look at a naked woman obscured by smoke. "Oiroke no Jutsu" transforming back to normal Konohamaru stared at Naruto with Moegi and Udon standing beside him. "How do you like that Naruto-nichan?"

"Konohamaru-"Naruto was about to tell Konohamaru when he was interrupted by Tsubaki.

"OY WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE" Tsubaki roared at the boy.

"Who the hell are you?" Konohamaru asked.

"I'm Naruto-ni's sister" Tsubaki said with pride in her voice.

"Sister?"

"Yeah you got a problem with it boy?"

"You shut up girl…..I'm not going to bother calling you a woman because you got no breasts and no sex appeal!" Konohamaru's words resonated throughout the street as the gathered women who heard him could only think of one thing.

_He is an enemy of all women._

"THE HELL YOU SAY YOU PERVERT!" Tsubaki roared as she ran towards Konohamaru and kicked him right between the legs.

"Ah I'm down" Konohamaru cried as he fell down on the street in pain.

"Serves you right." Moegi said shaking her head.

"Oh I like her." Sakura said smiling at Tsubaki who smiled right back at her. "Come on you three lets go see Tsunade-shishou." And so the trio plus Sakura set off towards the Hokage tower.

"What a women." Konohamaru sighed as he still laid on the ground.

As Naruto and company continued to the Hokage's office they were stopped several times by civilians and shinobi alike. As they entered into the office they were met by Tsunade, Shizune, and Kakashi who looked towards the door as the group entered.

"Naruto…." Tsunade stood up from her seat and looked at the now fifteen year old boy with a smile on her face. "It is good to see you again Naruto."

"You to Baa-chan." Naruto said with a smile on his face. In truth it was good to see the three people in front of him.

"Yo Naruto." Kakashi said waving at him with a smile on his face.

"Kakashi-sensei…long time no see." Naruto said excited. For the next twenty minutes the group talked about many things. From changes in Konoha, to what Naruto was up to for the past two years.

"I can tell you got stronger Naruto. Makes me wonder if you still have a dream to be Hokage." Tsunade said as she took a sip of tea.

"You know it. " Naruto said eagerly

"If you all don't mind I would like to talk to Naruto alone. Jiraiya, you can stay." Tsunade told the room at large. And as one the room was slowly emptied. As the door closed, Tsunade walked over to Naruto and gave his shoulder a tight squeeze of affection. "Welcome back Naruto." Naruto started to smile, that was before he was pushed back and slammed into the wall. Tsunade flicked him on the forehead and with her super strength sent him flying. "And that was for making me worried." Tsunade said with a frown. "Alright you all can come back in!" Tsunade yelled to the group outside.

_That was over doing it Tsunade. _Jiraiya thought as he watched the events unfolding. As the group came back into the office they were accompanied by Shikamaru and Temari. After realizing who was the one laying on the floor Shikamaru smiled.

"Nar- Hey Naruto." He said excitedly.

"Yo Shikamaru." Naruto said as he slowly stood up. As the two briefly embraced, Naruto then looked over to Temari.

"Temari….long time." Naruto said as he simply nodded in her direction.

"Heh Naruto you seem well." Temari looked Naruto over and couldn't help but notice that he changed even further since the last time he stayed with them.

"Shikamaru, I can only guess you are here to pick up the documents for the upcoming exams?" Tsunade asked as Shikamaru started to nod and picked up the paper. "Why don't you and tour the village Naruto?" Tsunade recommended to Naruto as she pointed to Shikamaru and Temari.

"Alright." And so Naruto, Tsubaki, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Temari left the office leaving behind the adults.

"So I am assuming you will be leaving soon Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked as she looked at her former teammate.

"Yes."

Konoha had not really changed since his last departure Naruto noticed. Sure there were new stores and of course the giant face of Baa-chan, but everything stayed similar.

"So are you two dating?" Naruto asked Shikamaru and Temari not sure why she would be here otherwise.

"You kidding why would I go out with a guy like him. I'm only here as an ambassador from Suna." Temari said indignantly.

"She's too troublesome for me. Besides, because I became a Chunnin I had to take part of the exams and that also means I have to escort the ambassador around. "Shikamaru said. What the two didn't realize was that after Naruto's question their cheeks warmed up just a little.

"Could have fooled me." Tsubaki said just under her breathe catching the attention of Sakura who started to laugh, which only caused the Suna and Konoha shinobi to blush full out.

"Any-anyways, Naruto what are you going to do? After all you are the last of our age group not a Chunnin." Shikamaru asked trying horribly to change the topic.

"I once wanted to become Chunin then Hokage just so that everyone would acknowledge me. Now I just want to become stronger to protect everyone. So I can only guess that means that you're a Chunnin now Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked who got his confirmation from a nod.

"You should also know that Neji is a Jonin, and Temari along with her brother Kankuro are also Jonin." Shikamaru continued.

"And Gaara?" Naruto asked

"Kazekage." Temari answered as she watched Naruto's shocked face frown just a little.

"It seems I am falling behind everyone." Naruto stated a little crestfallen. Everyone around him then began to frown at the sad voice Naruto had. "Heh, you are amazing Gaara…..well I can't lose can I?" Naruto said which quickly seemed to brighten the mood of the group. "Shikamaru, even though I want to take the exams, I got to finish what I started a while ago. Besides, I don't need a rank to protect those important to me" Naruto said with a smile as he walked on.

Temari looked on at the younger blonde as she remembered his short stay with them in Suna.

_Flashback_

Temari walked down the street looking for Gaara and Naruto since they left for a walk about two hours ago. As she crossed a walkway she notice the two overlooking the sunset on the wall. As she neared the two she couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"Naruto, you know that I am still sore about losing to you the last time we fought." Gaara stated to Naruto. "Who would have thought that your strength came from your will to protect your precious people?"

"Gaara, we both know that you were plenty strong when we first faced off. It is just that, your existence does not have to be based on the number of people you kill, but at the number of people you protect while fighting. Don't forget that. Just remember the precious people that you wish to protect, make sure that they are people you are willing to fight for…..willing to die for." Naruto told his friend while patting him on the shoulder. "It is for the sake of those people that we become stronger."

"I think I understand. I want to become strong to protect the ones important to me."

_Present _

_Uzumaki Naruto you don't know how great the change Gaara had after he met you. We have much to thank you for. _Temari thought as she continued to watch the blonde.

"Naruto, I think you and I need to catch up." Kakashi said as he walked up to the group of teenagers.

"Sure Kakashi-sensei. Where do you want to go?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"How about you and I meet at training group three tonight. Oh and Naruto, make sure you come prepared." And with that Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What did he mean come prepared?" Tsubaki asked the group in general.

"Hehe I think he wants to fight." Naruto said with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, this should be fun."

**Jutsu**

**Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique)**

**A/N: Next chapter it is going to be an all out battle between Naruto and Kakashi...GET EXCITED**

**The Song I was listening to while editing: Scotty Doesn't Know by Lustra**

**Until Next Time**


	12. Chapter 12

**And I am back this is an extra long chapter for you folks and I hope you like it. Personally it was a fun one to write even if it is kinda chaotic.**

**Shoutouts**

**Namikaze541: yeah I am starting to see the narusaku going on. I will most likely change it into romance once i figure out how I want them to get together**

**Splitheart1120: That wouldn't be fun if Danzo becomes passive lol**

**Puma1sunfire: Yeah I actually enjoyed adding Tsubaki as a sister I am hoping to give her more face time later on**

**TheGrinningAnimal: I agree that my chapters are short...but to be fair typing seven pages per a chapter is tiring...but Look this one is like two times longer...so there ya go**

**Naturokurosaki: I agree some of the stuff I did doesn't seem realistic...but that is why its called fanfiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**_Two Years Of Blood, Sweat, & Tears_**

_Konoha at Night_

_Training Ground Three_

Naruto walked to the training grounds looking around. Naruto left Tsubaki with Sakura to tour the village. He felt that this reunion between teacher and student should be done alone without interruptions. A feeling of nostalgia overtook him and he couldn't help but smile just a little. How long has it been since I've been here he thought. Turning around, Naruto came face to face with his former teacher Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, I am really happy to see you after all this time. You said that I should come here prepared. I am assuming that you want to have a little sparring match?" Naruto said to the older shinobi.

"Naruto, Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama told me about why you left the village. If it is true that you were attacked by Konoha Anbu then I would understand why you would not want to come back. But why didn't you at least come to me?" Kakashi said with hurt in his voice. That guilt hurt Naruto as well. Of all the people Naruto knew, he knew that Kakashi-sensei was one of the only people he could rely on.

"It was too much Kakashi-sensei. I know everyone knows me as the dead last. I know how everyone looks at me and always turns their backs to me. I know everyone thinks I am an idiot, but even I could tell what those Anbu were after." Naruto said with a sad face as he absentmindedly placed his right hand over his stomach where the seal to the Kyubi was placed. "The only reason why those Anbu were after me was because of the Kyubi. And I remember that Akatsuki wants me for the same reason. I needed to disappear and figure out what to do. I am tired Kakashi-sensei. I am tired of running, everyone wants me for some reason….honestly I wanted everyone to acknowledge me but this is definitely how I wanted to be acknowledged." As Naruto said this Kakashi could not help but feel a hint of sympathy towards the boy. He could empathize on how this could ruin somebody.

"Naruto, I believe in your strength. And that is why I am going to see how much stronger you have become since we last saw each other." Kakashi said as he got into a fighting position while lifting his protector to reveal his sharingan.

"I see you want to get serious Kakashi-sensei. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto said as thirty copies of him appeared and ran towards Kakashi.

"It seems that they already started." Tsubaki said while standing on a branch. About one-hundred yards away unknown to the two combatants stood in the tree line Sakura and Tsubaki. "You all can come out now!" Tsubaki yelled back to the trees behind her. And out came a large group of shinobi. All of Konoha eleven walked out with their respective sensei's, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, Iruka, the older generation of ino-shika-cho, Konohamaru and his team, Anko, and several other shinobi from the village. It would seem the rumor of Uzumaki Naruto back from the dead having a sparring match with Hatake Kakashi was too good not to pass up and watch.

"How did you know they were there Tsubaki-chan?" Sakura asked as Ino stepped up to her other side.

"When I was training with Jiraiya and Naruto-ni I learned some sensor techniques." She simply answered and smiled.

Back with Naruto and Kakashi the fight was only becoming a warm up for the two as Kakashi finished the last shadow clone as he stared at the original Naruto.

"Fūton: Daitoppa" Naruto unleashed a blast of wind from his mouth at the same time Kakashi started to form his own seals.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu" As a giant fireball was released from Kakashi's mouth and overtook Naruto's attack and only made the fireball larger. **(A/N : can anyone tell me how Kakashi can blow fire out his mouth without lighting his mask on fire?)**With little time to react Naruto lifted his left hand.

"Hanshateki Seirei" absorbed the attack and sent it back at his teacher who quickly dodged it. As Kakashi and Naruto went into a full out melee fight it was back and forth punching and kicking. With a swift kick from Kakashi was sent backwards onto the ground with a thud.

"You sure have improved Naruto, but definitely not enough." Kakashi said as he disappeared in a clutter of leaves.

"Naruto…..help me." Turning around Naruto came face to face with a bloody and unconscious Tsubaki and a barely conscious Sakura who was no better than Tsubaki. Hearing footsteps Naruto turned around once again and came face to face with a bloody Uchiha Sasuke. He looked exactly the same as he did two years ago. He looked more like a pin cushion with kunai and shurikens sticking out of his body and to his horror, Sasuke was missing his left arm.

"Naruto." Sasuke gasped as he fell on the ground succumbing to the massive blood loss.

"Wa-what?" Naruto said completely overtaken by grief.

_That should do it_. Kakashi thought as his genjutsu seemed to be taking its effect on Naruto. As Kakashi started to relax he noticed Naruto to move slightly. Then he became shocked that he formed a rasengan in one hand and ran right towards him. His shock was quickly moved as he dodged Naruto's attack.

"How did you break the genjutsu?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

"Hehe, it's a secret." Naruto said teasingly.

_Flashback_

"Now Naruto, we have been training for a while now." Jiraiya started "But I think we should reevaluate your fighting capabilities."

"What do you mean ero-sennin?" Naruto asked a little confused.

"Well look at it this way. You are already proficient with taijutsu and ninjutsu we should look at genjutsu. As you already know, Akatsuki has a genjutsu master in their ranks and we have to figure out a way to defend yourself against those types of attacks. There are different ways one can defend against a genjutsu fighter. First, you can overpower a genjutsu by disrupting your opponent's chakra with your own by overpowering theirs. Second, you can cause bodily pain to yourself like biting your lip hard enough to draw blood. If you are with someone else they can do the previous two for you. Alternatively they can attack the genjutsu user while they are busy with you and release you later on after they dealt with the attacker. Lastly there is one more but it can only be done by certain people, and luckily you are one of those people."

"What do I need to do?"

"You are special because you have the Kyubi sealed inside of you. As long as you have a good relationship with the Kyubi, they can disrupt the genjutsu for you releasing you from it."

"Hehe that is pretty cool." _What do you say Kyubi, mind helping me out? _Naruto asked mentally to the creature in him

**"Why the hell would I help you"** Kyubi asked with a smirk. Honestly he wanted to help Naruto but just wanted to make him beg for it.

"Come on, we can make a deal right?"

_Present_

**"You owe me"** The Kyubi said.

"Yeah, yeah you're awesome." Naruto said brushing off the fox as he began to form seals. "Fūton: Kami Oroshi" as pressurized air went straight at Kakashi as he tried to counter with his own technique.

"Kyoudai kaze name" And out came his own form of a wind attack which clashed with Naruto's canceling each other's out. "Fūton: Kamikaze" Kakashi released as several tornadoes were sent Naruto's way who was forced to run far back from the onslaught of the attack.

"Not bad Kakashi-sensei. But let's see if you can deal with this. Raijin no yari" As Naruto finished the seals a giant spear of lightning appeared at his right arm.

"That could hurt." Kakashi said as he started to back up just in case. As Naruto charged towards him Kakashi took a defensive to this "Doton: Doryūheki" Kakashi then created a giant earth wall that he hoped would protect him. As Naruto threw the spear it crashed into the newly made wall and caused an explosion that forced both combatants back as debris fell to the ground.

"This is an incredible match between two strong fighters." Lee said with fire burning in his eyes. Obviously his youthfulness was overtaking him again. "Guy-sensei, if Kakashi-san is your eternal rival, then I want to make Naruto mine!" Lee said with determination in his voice.

"Very good Lee, but if you want to match up to your eternal rival you must train harder!" Guy told his young pupil as the boy saluted him. "Alright Lee, we are going to train harder! Instead of one hundred laps around Konoha on your hands you are going to do two hundred. Then you are going to do one thousand push-ups and sit-ups!" The two were really getting into it and an imaginary sunset with an ocean appeared behind them. All the spectators looked at the two green suited shinobi in horror. Neji merely crossed his arms and closed his eyes hoping that they would stop while Tenten was shaking her head in disbelief.

"Sakura-san, is that a form of genjutsu?" Tsubaki asked in fear of the mysterious sunset scenery.

"For your sanity Tsubaki-chan, don't ask" Sakura said trying to pay attention to the fight in front of them.

"Raikiri"Kakashi roared as he went to strike Naruto with his blade hand. Naruto barely dodged only watching as the front of his shirt was sliced open drawing a little blood.

"Oy Kakashi-sensei, I thought you wanted to see how much stronger I got not try and kill me!" Naruto shouted as he pointed accusingly at the Jonin.

"Well I thought you would have gotten stronger and I thought I shouldn't hold back. And besides, when my cute student ran off and made me worried, I had to show him how worried I was." Kakashi said with an eye smile while rubbing the back of his head laughing.

This only caused Naruto to sweat drop looking at his teacher. _He is definitely still angry at me._ Naruto thought.

"Atsuen ikazuchi" Naruto roared as a vortex appeared charged with lightning heading for Kakashi. After outrunning the vortex Kakashi turned towards his student and started to form another set of seals.

"Shinpuu Shou Rai" Kakashi said as he pointed his palms towards Naruto who realized to late that he was quickly enveloped into a cyclone. Naruto was in the cyclone and could not move out of it, nor could he see what Kakashi was doing outside the cyclone. What Kakashi was doing was gathering wind element chakra and compressing it into his right hand. When he fully charged the attack, he released it at the still prone Naruto who was hit full blast. Naruto's body was sent flying several meters only to be stopped by a large stone formation that was in his way.

"Heh, I guess that is match over." Kiba said slightly disappointed in Naruto.

"I wouldn't say that Kiba." Shikamaru said as he continued to watch the match. Before Kiba could ask what he meant he saw that Naruto was slowly getting up.

"Kakashi-sensei that one hurt a lot." Naruto whined as he stood up and slowly started to grope his body. Naruto found that he cracked maybe two ribs, nothing to be concerned about. After finding no serious damage, Naruto realized that his clothes were now tattered by the massive attack he just took head on. Peeling off his top Naruto now stood bare chested in front of everyone. Everyone could see that Naruto's body was well-toned and they could not miss the various battle scars he had accumulated over the two years training. The rugged look seemed to catch the eyes of many onlookers. It did not help that Sakura blushed after hearing Ino whisper the word hunk as she analyzed Naruto bit by bit.

"Kakashi-sensei it's alright that I go all out right?" Naruto asked as Kakashi stared at the blonde.

"Naruto, are you telling me you were holding back?" Kakashi got his answer in the form of an imitated eye smile with a grin. Naruto then started to laugh and rub the back of his head in embarrassment. "That little punk." Kakashi mumbled as he sweat dropped.

"Hateshinai raikou gusoku" Naruto said as lightning nature chakra began to cover his entire body until he looked like he had lightning all over his body. Then almost quicker than he could react Naruto launched off and almost punched Kakashi in the face. Kakashi blocked the attack but felt his arm go slightly numb with the contact with Naruto. Kakashi backed away trying to figure out what just happened. Naruto began another round of attacks each strike sounded like thunderclaps and Kakashi knew he couldn't touch Naruto, this was a troubling technique. In desperation Kakashi jumped far away trying to create a distance between the two "Bad move Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said as he disappeared in a yellow flash appearing from behind him and striking then disappearing to appear on his left then right hitting him at the same time. What Kakashi could barely see was that Naruto was going all over the place hitting him every second he landed then disappeared. After the attack Kakashi laid on the ground unmoving then disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Kakashi-sensei, you can come out now."

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu" Kakashi came out of the ground below Naruto trying to grab his leg. Luckily Naruto dodged the attack. Once Kakashi got out of the ground he noticed that Naruto's pupils were different. "Naruto when did you learn senjutsu, and when did you have the time to absorb natural chakra to do so?" Kakashi was in wonder at the growth of his student.

"Heh, I learned this a while ago Kakashi-sensei, as for when, when I attacked you with clones earlier I sent one into the woods while you were distracted. By the way, when did you replace yourself with a clone?"

"I did it while you were busy dealing with that fireball I blew at you earlier." Kakashi responded with a smile as the two began to laugh at each other.

"What the hell?" Kiba asked in shock, and he was not the only one shocked at Naruto's attacks.

"Tsubaki-chan, what were those attacks Naruto-kun was doing?" Hinata asked the younger girl as everyone else started to look at the girl. Even Jiraiya didn't know Naruto had these techniques in his arsenal. With a sigh Tsubaki started to explain.

"Hateshinai raikou gusoku is the first attack." Tsubaki began. "Naruto-ni absorbs lightning nature chakra and creates body armor with it. When that is on his attack power and speed increases. It is also a strong defense as the armor protects the user from physical attacks. As Kakashi-san might have felt it when he blocked Naruto-ni's attack he felt a shock. If he comes into contact enough he might just be paralyzed from all the electrical stimulation. The second attack, is a variant of Hiraishin no Jutsu. As you may know, the fourth Hokage could use the technique using seals and special kunai. Naruto-ni learned the technique a while ago and figured out a way to use it without seals. The weakness of the attack relies on the seals and a person could predict as long as they know where all the seals are. As such Naruto-ni surpassed that and added his Hateshinai raikou gusoku with it. From a distance the opponent looks like they are being attacked by all sides at the same time by lightning. In reality Naruto-ni is just attacking and running at a speed that one can't really follow. He calls is Arashi heki. An attack that hits the opponent almost one hundred times in the form of lighting and there is no real way to get out of the attack. It is Naruto-ni's special combo." Tsubaki said with a cheeky grin.

"Incredible" Tsunade said in awe at the power of the attack while Jiraiya and Shizune nodded in agreement.

_You are incredible Naruto._ Sakura thought as she continued to watch. What she saw next was Naruto releasing his lightning armor and letting it disperse into the sky which created a thunder cloud above the two. Everyone could feel the hairs on their body stand up from the energy that the cloud was giving off.

"Oh, um, it would seem Naruto-ni is overdoing it. Everyone please find cover." Tsubaki said weakly as she actually tried to hide behind some branches. The crowd's confusion was answered as they watched lightning strikes hit the ground destroying the training ground.

_At the Same Time_

"Kakashi-sensei, I want to show something off to you. This will seriously kill you if you get hit so please run Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said as he dispersed his lightning armor and thunder clouds began to form. "Tenshura" Naruto cried as he raised his hands into the air. Kakashi could feel his hair standing and knew better to question as he turned and ran as far away as he could from Naruto. He only got outside the perimeter of the clouds as he was thrown forward several feet by an explosion. Getting up and turning around Kakashi saw in horror the remnants of the training ground. All the trees were burned to ash, the earth torn in pieces the once leveled ground was nothing more but chasms and crumbling rocks. The river that once ran through was nearly vaporized. After reviewing the damage once more Kakashi could tell only one thing about the attack that he just barely avoided. This was a village destroyer.

"WHAT THE HELL" Kiba roared at the destruction that was the only evidence that anything happened.

"Tenshura. Naruto-ni calls it Tenshura. Over one thousand lightning strikes each one having the destructive power of one hundred exploding tags." Tsubaki said the usual happy go lucky girl now replaced by a quiet serious person. The shocked spectators did not respond and only waited for Tsubaki to continue. "Naruto-ni created this technique as an emergency and would only be used to wipe the map of enemies."

"Tsubaki, how did Naruto create this technique?" Jiraiya asked still in shock from the destruction he just witnessed. With a sigh Tsubaki explained.

"Tenshura requires three stages before Naruto-ni can use it. The first is Hateshinai raikou gusoku. By using that technique Naruto-ni gathers lightning nature chakra to his body and continuously builds more as he wears it. The second is Arashi heki. When he moves in lightning form he charges the atmosphere changing the ionic level slowly forming a thundercloud. Lastly Naruto releases his lightning armor into the air causing a discharge that strikes down onto where the cloud is hovering over causing the chain reaction."

"Incredible, that technique is unbeatable." Konohamaru whispered in awe at the power of the technique. But noticed that Tsubaki was shaking her head at him.

"While we trained, Naruto-ni and I slowly learned that all techniques are never perfect and that there is always a weakness to it. Tenshura requires the first two steps as a setup. If you were to disrupt Naruto-ni before he could use any of the two then you stop the technique. Second, is that it uses up chakra; I have no doubt that Naruto-ni is almost completely drained. Lastly is the fact that I just said that this technique is meant to wipe the map of enemies. As you can tell Naruto-ni could not control where the strikes landed and as such means that the attacks are an area of effect meaning that it will attack enemies and allies indiscriminately. With that in mind Naruto-ni promised me that he would never use this technique unless it was an emergency and that there were many enemies and no allies where he used it."

"Um Tsubaki-chan should you be telling us all the weaknesses to Naruto's technique?" Tenten asked as Tsubaki gave the other girl a half smile.

"You are Naruto's allies, which means he would never use it against any of you. And if he trusts you, so can I. She said with a full smile which many returned to her, while others thought about the trust part of her comment. Until Sakura realized something Tsubaki said.

"Wait, if you said Naruto would only use this in emergency, then why is he using it now?"

"Because he is a big idiot that needs to be punished for his stupidity." Tsubaki said while she cracked her knuckles threatening.

_Scary._ The Konoha eleven thought at the same time. While Tsunade looked at the girl while smiling. _Oh she is going to fit in just fine._ The Hokage thought

_Back to Naruto and Kakashi_

"Naruto, I think you overdid it there." Kakashi said while looking at the devastation.

"Heh, well you know. Anyways Kakashi-sensei I am almost out of chakra and I can tell you are also. So how about this last attack is my declaration of a last attack."

"Fine by me." Kakashi said as he began to form seals. "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu" Kakashi said as a water dragon was formed from whatever was left from the river.

"Seiryū no Shitenno" Naruto said as a wind dragon came down from the skies and the two elemental dragons began to clash. The water dragon was then able to wrap around the wind dragon and bite into its neck. The wind dragon roared in anguish as it exploded the blast back causing the water dragon to go with it. "Heh, Kakashi-sensei you sure are incredible."

"You too Naruto. So, since that was our last attack who wins?" With a cheeky grin Naruto started to form a rasengan while Kakashi started to sigh and form a raikiri. The two slowly ran towards at each other as the force of the two attacks blasted the two backwards to their respective sides. Kakashi laid on the ground too tired to move while Naruto was only able to get back to one knee panting heavily. It was not until they heard multiple footsteps did they turn towards the group of spectators.

"Naruto-ni you overdid it idiot" Tsubaki said as she kicked him forcing him to fall down from exhaustion.

"No fair Tsubaki-chan" Naruto whined.

"Was that really necessary Kakashi?" Tsunade asked the older man wondering why they didn't stop after destroying the entire training ground. She knew she was going to have to fill out paper work for repairs and she was going to make sure Naruto and Kakashi suffers with her.

"I had to find out how much stronger Naruto has gotten Hokage-sama" Kakashi said with a smile.

"I think you know how much stronger now Kakashi-sensei" Shikamaru said with a lazy grin followed by many of those around to snicker at the foolishness.

"Naruto-ni I think you had enough for the night and we need to find a place to sleep" Tsubaki said acting like the older of the two which was hard to take seriously at the current situation.

"She is right Naruto, your old home has long been since renovated and I don't think we have anywhere besides the hotels for you to stay." Tsunade said now realizing how right the girl was.

"They could always stay at the Namikaze compound." Jiraiya said out loud thinking more to himself than talking to anyone.

"Why the Namikaze compound?" Naruto asked in confusion

**"Seriously, you still haven't figured it out after all the times I made fun of you"** the Kyubi told Naruto in his head which Naruto was still confused about. **"Dear lord how are you still alive with all the stupidity that surrounds you!Just go there and check it out your surroundings!"**

"Um, Naruto are you alright you have this scrunched up face that looks like you are constipated" Kiba said trying to get the blondes attention while getting glares from everyone for his colorful description.

"Idiot" Tsubaki said while turning to her brother.

"The Kyubi said that I should check the place out and that I would learn some stuff." Naruto said. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi looked at each other silently agreeing on what to do next.

After a walk Naruto, Tsubaki, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi walked to the Namikaze property which had not been inhabited for almost sixteen years since the death of the fourth. Once entering Tsubaki gushed at the beautiful garden along with the cherry blossom tree that overlooked a small pond. Upon entering the building they could not help but notice how large it was. A one story building that had over twenty rooms to house who ever lived here. A bathhouse in the back with heating. A kitchen that needed to be stocked but nevertheless was impressively large with a connecting door to a supposed dining room. Walking on they noticed the training rooms both inside and out and the various human shaped targets painted on parts of their bodies. Moving on they saw a weapons room, and a small shrine dedicated to the Buddha.

"Most of this was kept clean thanks to the third who insisted that this place stay in tip-top shape just in case." Jiraiya commented as the group continued to tour the property. Walking to the back of the property Naruto noticed a small house that was detached from the rest and walked towards it in curiosity.

"Wait Naruto" Jiraiya called as the boy ran towards the house and walked in.

Upon entering Naruto looked at the simple household. He saw a small kitchen with a dining table. He saw various rooms, but when he entered a particular bedroom he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Naruto-ni?" Tsubaki asked quietly at the sudden rigidness her brother had taken. The group looked at what Naruto was looking at, the majority looked away. There stood was a stand holding the former fourth Hokage's white short sleeved coat almost similar to Naruto's red coat the difference was that on the fourths written vertically on the back was Yondaime Hokage. Next to the stand stood a picture frame of the fourth and what anyone looking at the two could assume was his wife. However Tsubaki could not understand why Naruto was still looking shocked.

Naruto's memories started to flash on the face of the woman in the picture. He could only remember little but he remembered that red hair and that face. From when he was a baby and Naruto could barely hear the chuckle the Kyubi was giving off in his head.

"She- she's my mother isn't she?" Naruto asked the room in general as Jiraiya gave the young man a light yet firm pat on his shoulder as if in confirmation. "But, if she is my mother…..then why. Was the fourth my father?" Naruto turned towards the small group behind him. They all nodded to his question. This only set Naruto off.

"Oh my Kami." Naruto whispered as he bent over and he began to hyperventilate.

**Jutsu: (In no specific order)**

**Hateshinai raikou gusoku (Everlasting Lightning Armor)**

**Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)**

**Arashi heki (Tempest Burst)**

**Atsuen ikazuchi (Rolling Thunder)**

**Tenshura (Heavenly Carnage) **

**Raijin no yari (Spear of The Thunder God)**

**Hanshateki Seirei (Reflecting Spirit)**

**Kyoudai kaze name (Power Wind Wave)**

**Fūton: Kamikaze (Wind Release: Divine Wind)**

**Shinpuu Shou Rai (Rise of the Divine Wind)**

**Fūton: Kami Oroshi (Wind Release: Godly Winds from The Mountains)**

**Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)**

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clones Technique)**

**Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)**

**Doton: Doryūheki (Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall)**

**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**

**Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)**

**Raikiri (Lightning Cutter)**

**Seiryū no Shitenno (Four Heavenly Kings of Seiryū) **

**A/N: Seiryū is the dragon protector of the east in Japanese lore who represents Spring**. **We all learned something O:)**

**Sadly I will be taking a break so that I can figure out what I want next...bye for now**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys I am back with a new chapter sorry it took so long. Here's some NaruXSaku for you folks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

_Lovely Cherry Blossoms_

_Konoha_

"Naruto calm down and breathe." Jiraiya said to the hyperventilating teenager who was close to collapsing on his knees. The man was clearly afraid for the boy as he was quickly losing his calm.

"How can I calm down? My father was the freaking fourth Hokage and no one thought that it was important for me to know?" Naruto said clearly losing his temper as time passed. Tsubaki although upset as well with how her brother was taking this slowly put her hand on his shoulder. It seemed to do the trick as Naruto slowly started breathing normally. "Thank you Tsubaki, I'm alright now" Naruto told his little sister as he stood up and walked out the room.

The group followed Naruto as he left the small home and went inside the main building never stopping for the others. As the two adults and two youths walked into the main sitting room, an awkward silence took over everyone. The mix of emotions Naruto was feeling was everywhere.

"You knew that the fourth was my father." Naruto said in more of a statement then a question. Tsunade and Jiraiya nodded in confirmation. Naruto took a deep breath and sat down on one of the many couches in the room. "Who else knows?"

"Everyone in this room, Kakashi, and the third." Tsunade said as she listed off the people off her hand. "We believe there are other shinobi within the village that knows of your heritage but they have never made a comment about it, nor have they done anything about it."

"Why…..Why did no one ever tell me?" Naruto was close to tears from all this shock as Tsubaki walked over and sat down next to Naruto as she laid her head on his shoulder in comfort. The act was small but it seemed to comfort Naruto just a little. Slowly Naruto reached his arm around Tsubaki and gave her a one armed hug as if to reaffirm each other's existence.

"The third thought that it would be safe that no one knew of your connection with the fourth. Your birth was meant to be a secret. That was the reason why it was forbidden to talk about it among the villagers. Not even your year mates know of your heritage or that you have the Kyubi locked away inside of you."

"That is a stupid excuse and you know it." Tsubaki said as she glared at the two clearly not happy with this news. She knew that she wasn't truly Naruto's blood sister, but a life of loneliness taught her to be able to understand the pain of being alone could cause on a person. Spending the last two years with Naruto only helped her to empathize with him in a manner that few people could understand.

In the time they spent together, Tsubaki learned a lot about Naruto. Tsubaki knew that Naruto lived a life of hardships. She listened as he lamented about his life as a parentless child who grew up in an orphanage who threw him out at the age of seven. She learned how the third Hokage would leave money to Naruto when they found him a small dingy apartment and how the villagers hated him for no reason other than that he had the demon Kyubi sealed in him. Truth be told, Tsubaki was shocked at this revelation, but she quickly regained her composure. In her eyes Naruto was her brother first, a shinobi second, and whatever else last. She believed in Naruto and it would not be fair to him to all of a sudden to think of him in such a biased manner after all he had done for her.

"I shouldn't have come back. This world is nothing more than secrets and lies." Naruto said heartbroken. This was a great betrayal in his eyes. All his suffering could have been avoided, but all the hardships all the pain, he had to suffer because it was supposed to be a secret. What the hell does that even mean?

"Naruto. Please understand that it was the third's wish that the connection to you the fox and the fourth be kept a secret. If anyone knew the truth you would have been targeted a long time ago by other factions and villages." Jiraiya said trying miserably to calm down the boy. What he was doing was only fueling Naruto's rage as orange chakra began to form around him. Those around him started to back away from him in fear of what would happen next.

"Naruto-ni, please calm down." Tsubaki said tears forming in her eyes, she wasn't happy how the regularly happy person sitting next to her was acting so melancholy. This change of demeanor unsettled her and Naruto felt guilty for messing up an otherwise happy return home to Konoha. Naruto knew that this conversation was not over, but it was best to figure out what his next step should be after a night's sleep.

"Alright, we'll stop for tonight. I am doing this only for you and no one else." Naruto said as he looked at the two adults still standing in the room. Their faces showed shame on how they treated the boy and the feeling of failure of not being able to handle this more smoothly.

The following day Naruto and Tsubaki walked the streets of Konoha looking at the various stores but finding nothing that drew their attention. That was until Tsubaki saw something that made her stop and do a double take. With a grin she ran into a store and picked up a fox mask. The mask was plain; the base was porcelain white with black painted whiskers on it. The mask showed a grin with white teeth and the eyeholes open with small lashes on top. Naruto smiled at her as she clearly wanted to buy the mask as an inside joke between the two. As Naruto went to pay for the mask, his smile disappeared at the frown he was getting from the shop owner. This was not missed by Tsubaki as she frowned as well at the atmosphere that the store took.

_Some things never change. _Naruto thought as the two left the store in hope to find something to lighten the mood. When the duo decided they were hungry and it was a good time to eat lunch, they went to the one and only place. As Naruto and Tsubaki walked into Ichiraku's there was a sudden gasp of air as the duo came face to face with Ayumi and Teuchi.

"Naruto-kun!" Ayumi said as she came over and gave the blonde boy a hug. The hug lasted for a long moment in which Tsubaki looked at the two slightly embarrassed. As for Teuchi he was able to get the couple's attention back when he cleared his voice.

"So, uh mind telling me what you plan to do with my daughter Naruto?" At the ramen stands owner's words the two broke apart red in the face.

"Father!" Ayumi cried in embarrassment.

"What? You two holding onto each other like that anyone would think you two were an item. Am I right little girl?" Teuchii asked Tsubaki who only nodded completely not happy about how this situation was playing out.

"Oy old man, don't say things that you can't take back. Anyways I would like to order six bowls of miso pork ramen." Naruto told the cook with a cheeky grin.

"I'll just have the one" Tsubaki said forgetting her brother's appetite. As the two sat down they were approached by Shikamaru and Temari as they were walking the street.

"Yo, Naruto. I see you are still addicted to ramen no matter how long it's been." Shikamaru said with a slight grin on his face.

"Give me a break Shikamaru, I haven't had this ramen in two years, this is big for me." Naruto complained as the sand and leaf couple walked into the stand joining the siblings.

"So Naruto, what are you up to for today?" Temari asked as the blonde boy put away his second bowl of ramen in record time.

"I don't know yet. Most likely tour the village and get reacquainted with everyone. Speaking of which Shikamaru, do you mind if we meet up later I want to talk to you about some stuff?" Naruto asked cryptically.

"Shouldn't be a problem. I just need to send this one off back to her village and then we can meet up on somewhere." Shikamaru said as he pointed his thumb towards Temari while looking quizzically at Naruto. This was a tad mysterious as Naruto's voice became less childish and more serious. "Anyways, Naruto I will see you around." As Shikamaru and Temari set off waving to the two ramen eaters Tsubaki couldn't help but giggle.

"Those two are definitely cute together." The younger girl said to her brother as she daintily ate her ramen.

"Really?" Naruto asked as Tsubaki nodded as she continued to giggle.

"You know, you don't have to leave so early." Shikamaru spoke to Temari as the two neared the front gates.

"True, but I need to head back to Suna so that we can finalize the roster for the upcoming exams. " Temari said as the two faced each other. There was an awkward silence between the two as Shikamaru lightly rubbed the back of his head as Temari stood there biting her lower lip as if thinking. Then without warning Temari stepped forward and kissed Shikamaru on the cheek. The kiss was light and almost non-existent but the two knew it happened. As the two backed away from each other red in the face.

"Later" Temari said as she turned and walked away without a glance back.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru mumbled as he walked back to meet with Naruto.

As Naruto walked along the streets of Konoha with Tsubaki they crossed the path of Sakura as she left the hospital.

"Sakura-chan how are you today?" Naruto asked cheerily while Tsubaki followed closely behind.

"Naruto, Tsubaki-chan, I just finished my rounds and decided to get some air before I had to get back to work.

"Well, in that case how about we meet up a little bit later tonight?" Naruto asked in a not so subtle way for a date. Sakura heard the hint and her cheeks only change a tint of red almost not noticeable. Tsubaki tried to stuff her fist in order to not laugh at her brother's antics, she decided to take pity on her brother and give the pink head a nudge. And so Tsubaki calmly walked passed Sakura and gave her a shoulder nudge. What Sakura didn't realize was that the nudge was more of a push as she tripped over and was caught in Naruto's arms. Realizing what happened Naruto went full out tomato face and Sakura blushed then over reacted and punched Naruto away from her.

"Naruto you idiot." Sakura growled as she walked off.

"I got to be more careful or Sakura-chan will end up killing me one of these days." Naruto grumbled as he stood up not for the second time in two days.

"Naruto-ni you know how to pick them." Tsubaki deadpanned not even bothering to help him up.

_Couple Hours Later_

Naruto met Shikamaru at a local tea house. The two sat in a corner booth while silently taking in their surroundings. Shikamaru ordered a ginger tea while Naruto ordered a normal green tea.

"You know Naruto, I never have seen you as a tea type of person." Shikamaru commented casually.

"Yeah well, when you travel for two years you learn to adapt."

"So where is Tsubaki? I thought you would have brought her with you"

"She's at home, Jiraiya is training her. She is getting really good at water techniques and this is the only time before Jiraiya leaves on his little trip again."

"I see…..So what did you want to meet me for?"

"Shikamaru, you are the smartest guy I know. I need your advice."

"Ask away." Shikamaru said as he got comfortable.

"What if I were to tell you that I have a complicated life. My parents may or may not be famous and I have a little more issues than everyone that you know." Naruto said as he struggled to find the right words.

"Naruto, I already know. I mean, the day you are born is the same day that the fourth dies and the Kyubi disappear." This comment shocked Naruto to absolute silence. "Anyways, how many people here in Konoha has blue eyes and blonde hair. You're the son of the fourth, aren't you Naruto?" Naruto nodded as he closed his eyes in silent thought. "As for your other problem, Naruto is Naruto. You are my friend and nothing else matters to me." Naruto was touched and amazed at Shikamaru's insight.

"How long have you known about the Kyubi?" Naruto asked quietly.

"I suspected when I saw you fight Neji during the Chunin exams. Neji was sure he closed off your chakra passage ways, and then you going off with orange chakra that gave me goosebumps. And like I said, the Kyubi mysteriously disappearing the same day you are born, and I couldn't help but notice how everyone hated you like you did something wrong."

"Have you told anyone else?" Naruto asked finally digesting what he just learned.

"I haven't told anyone. And if you are thinking of telling everyone else, just remember, we are your friends. We went to academy together; we trained together, hell you even bled for us. Just know that your friends are loyal to you and won't judge you so quickly without reason." Shikamaru said sympathetically.

"Shikamaru, I don't deserve a friend like you." Naruto said with a sad smile.

"Naruto, don't be an idiot." Shikamaru said with a lazy smile as silence overcame the two.

Naruto walked into his home slightly tired, but quickly straightened when he noticed who was sitting on the couch. There sitting in front of him was Haruno Sakura taking in her surroundings.

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?"

"You asked me to spend some time with you idiot." Sakura said a little annoyed with the question.

"My bad. I just had a talk with Shikamaru and I had a lot to think about while I was out. Since you are here though, how about we have a walk on the town and maybe a snack?" Naruto said trying to make up making Sakura wait for him.

"That's fine, but we are not eating ramen and you are paying. Wait, what about Tsubaki-chan? I don't think we should leave her alone." Sakura said while she was standing up reaching her hands up to the air in an attempt to stretch the sore spots on her back she gained while working.

"I will be fine, you two have fun." Tsubaki said as she stuck her smiling head out of a door assumed to be her room. In truth Jiraiya trained her hard but it was well worth it. People who had water nature chakra they could manipulate water that was already around them. But now she was able to mold her chakra to the point where she could create water from within her. "You two play nice alright, and Naruto-ni you better behave or else you better sleep with one eye tonight." Tsubaki said as she pointed a threateningly at him.

"Tsubaki-chan you are too harsh." Naruto said as he sweat dropped.

"Oh I don't think so" Sakura said while she smiled at the eleven year old girl. She was really starting to like this girl more and more. The time she spent with Tsubaki she couldn't help but notice the shadow of Naruto the girl was radiating. What she also couldn't help but notice was how the younger girl was always curious and always cheerful. "Alright, let's go Naruto."

As the two walked down the streets there was a silence. Not an awkward silence but more of a comfortable silence between two close friends. The two missed each other's company and they would never admit it but as the two looked at each other the other could not but admit that the other looked pretty/handsome.

"You know many of us were upset when we thought you had died. It hurt to not be able to know where you were or how you were doing. I mean I understand why you didn't want to come back with the risks and all" Sakura started not looking at her companion's face.

"You don't know how many times I wanted to come back to Konoha, I am sorry for making everyone worry about me. Wait, what do you mean the risks?" Naruto said catching her last remark.

"Oh you know, there are a lot of dangers and you had to have a reason to not come back." Sakura said unconvincingly. And Naruto could tell she was lying and failing. Naruto had the dark feeling that she knew more about his disappearance then she was willing to admit. And Naruto hardened himself. Once he figures out what Sakura knew he would have to tell her the entire truth. He knew that of all the people that knew the truth she was one of them that deserved to know. Everything from the Kyubi to his heritage and finally to some other things that she of all people should know about him.

"Sakura-chan, you really need to work on your lying skills." Naruto said with a sad smile. "We can talk about this later." After much walking and much whining about not getting to eat ramen the two finally decided to have a quiet meal or snack at the dango shop. Naruto just ordered some dumplings with green tea while Sakura ordered a bowl of fruit with jelly and green tea. The two traded polite conversation mostly about what had occurred in the last two years. Naruto talked about his adventures with Tsubaki and to a lesser extent Jiraiya leaving out some of his not proud moments. Naruto still held the memories of the times he had to kill people. Tsubaki sometimes had to calm Naruto down when he would start crying at night. In all honestly Naruto had a heart of innocence and he hated himself covering his hands in blood. Naruto had no desire to share these parts of his life just yet with Sakura. Sakura on the other hand spent much of her time telling some stories about the Konoha 11 had spent training and embarrassingly Sakura talked about her training with Tsunade and the hellish training she went through. Sakura ended up red face with embarrassment when Naruto started laughing at her suffering.

"It's not funny." Sakura told the teenage boy for the fourth time after leaving the restaurant. The two didn't really pay much attention to where they were walking but say it was coincidence or fate the two somehow ended up at the entrance to the Konoha cemetery. Naruto quickly sobered up the light attitude was now quiet and reserved. "Naruto?"

"What do you think of me Sakura-chan?" Naruto said in a whisper so low that Sakura barely heard him. "What if I was to tell you my childhood wasn't as easy as everyone else's?" Sakura did not know where Naruto was going but she had a feeling ever since she became Tsunade's apprentice.

_Flashback_

Sakura was finishing some files for her work absentmindedly thinking of what she would have for lunch when she saw Shizune walking away from Tsunade's office. Her curiosity got the better of her once again, and she once again ended up sneaking towards the closed door of her teacher.

"Jiraiya so what are we going to do with this issue? We cannot simply look over Naruto for the rest of his life." Tsunade started looking at the man. It had been over a year since Naruto left the village and Jiraiya's reports about the blonde had been scarce.

"Come now Tsunade-hime we both know that this is necessary and Naruto is perfectly safe with the frog sages."

"Sakura stop hiding and just come in." Tsunade yelled at the door. She knew that the pink head was there and since she knows the truth it was annoying to pretend nothing was happening.

"Sorry shishou." Sakura said with her head low in slight disappointment. She had to seriously rethink on a way to eavesdrop without detection; otherwise it was going to be a short lived career.

"Anyways, you do realize that besides the supposed Anbu and Akatsuki who are after Naruto we also have the whole issue with Naruto looking for Sasuke. These comments got Sakura's attention. Who were these Akatsuki and why did they want Naruto so badly.

"Don't worry Tsunade, everything will be fine." Jiraiya said.

_Present_

Naruto stood in front of various graves not really looking at any of them. It was then that Naruto turned towards Sakura and gave her a look of someone that was worlds apart. Sakura remembered how Naruto grew up, how every person in the village went out of their way to make sure Naruto knew that he wasn't wanted. She always wondered why so much hate was directed to Naruto. Even her parents made it a point for her to not have any interactions with Naruto. This could have been the reason why Sakura never made it a habit to try and connect with Naruto, why bother with a person who no one wants to deal with? Sure he was a little annoying and his pranks sometimes were obnoxious, but that can't be the only reason.

"Fifteen years ago the fourth and his wife had a baby, a boy." Naruto's words stopped Sakura in her spot. If what he said was true then she was pretty sure in what he was planning to say to her. "On that same day, the Kyubi attacked Konoha. What everyone thought was true was that the fourth killed the Kyubi and died with it. That's all a lie. The truth is…the fourth sealed the Kyubi in his own son." Naruto let his words sink in. The stillness of the night would only be disturbed by the wind blowing through the tree line. Unknown to Naruto, Sakura had a sad face remembering the hardships Naruto had to face in his childhood. This all made sense to her now. The anger the high tensions about Naruto, it all came together. It wasn't fear or anger at Naruto that Sakura felt. No, she felt guilt. Guilt for how Naruto had to live his entire life. She had written Naruto off as a lazy bum no one liked. In reality he was a boy who was dealt the worst luck in the world. Orphaned at birth, sealed with a demon creature, hated by the village, never having family or friends, and now he is being targeted by two groups who are only interested in what is sealed inside of him rather than the person himself. Naruto never had a chance to have a life of normalcy, and all this time Naruto kept moving forward with a smile hiding his pain.

"So now you know my dirty little secrets. I am the son of the fourth Hokage and never was able to be accepted as that because it was a security risk. And now you also know that I have something inside me. It's alright; I can tell that you are scared of me now. I'll understand if you never want to talk to me again. Goodnight…Sakura-chan." As Naruto started to walk back to the village he felt a small tug at the back of his coat. Turning around, Naruto saw that Sakura had her face pointed down her bangs hiding her face and her small hand was latched onto his coat.

"Idiot. You really think that I trained hard to become stronger for no reason. I knew you were alive out there. I trained for the sake that I would stop being a burden to you, I wanted to be your support." Sakura said as she started to build strength in her voice. "I will never look down on you for such a reason. You are just my idiot Naruto." Sakura as she lifted her hand and rested it on his right cheek. Naruto was at first shocked at how Sakura was so open about how she felt about this and even more at her motions. This merely caused him to smile and reach up his hand on top of her hand on his cheek. Grabbing her hand he brought it up as he brushed his lips against her hand. This motion caused the two to blush and part away from each other.

"Uh, we should head back to the village." Sakura said as she waited for Naruto to walk side by side with her. As the two walked through the streets of the village, the two whether it was consciously or not intertwined their hands together. As the two neared Naruto's "new" home the two finally realized what they had done and jumped away from each other as if they were shocked.

"Do you uh want to come inside Sakura-chan" Naruto asked as Sakura nodded. The two walked inside to be greeted by Tsubaki who was just finished from taking a bath.

"Naruto-ni, Sakura-chan how was your date?" She asked with a cheeky grin which only caused the two teenagers to glow red. "Oh, must have been good. Let me guess you two held hands and kissed" She giggled as she puckered her lips and started to imitate kissing sounds. What she didn't know was that she was pretty much on the dot.

"Oy, Tsubaki-chan don't get smart with." Naruto said sticking his tongue out. As the trio sat around talking Tsubaki bid her brother and Sakura goodnight while the other two stuck around talking long into the night. It was so long into the night that Sakura fell asleep and Naruto didn't want to disturb her. Soon enough Sakura rested her head on Naruto's shoulder and Naruto's eyelids started to get heavy until he fell asleep as well. It was early in the morning when Naruto stirred and realized the position he was in. It was soon that he felt Sakura shift that caused him to look down to a pair of green eyes. He didn't know what caused him to do it but Naruto started to close in on Sakura. Their lips were so close to touching and Sakura seemed to inch upwards to his lips as well until a knock came at the door. The two quickly separated as Naruto went to the door as Tsubaki came out her room rubbing her eyes and identifying Sakura on the couch. Tsubaki did a double take as she came eye to eye to a blushing Sakura as Tsubaki snickered while she continued to the bathroom.

"Hokage-sama wishes for you to appear in her office immediately, and uh- Sakura-san as well." A shinobi said as he noticed Sakura on the couch but not wanting to comment on why the Hokage's apprentice was sitting in Naruto's living room so early in the morning. As the leaf shinobi left, Naruto turned towards Sakura who stood up.

"We should go." Sakura said as she flirtatiously nudged Naruto with her shoulder and walked out.

"Tsubaki-chan, can you take care of yourself for a bit, me and Sakura-chan have to go out for a bit." Naruto called receiving a confirmation somewhere inside the house. After a walk Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura stood in front of the Hokage who looked less than happy.

"The Kazekage was kidnapped late last night, you three are to travel to Suna and assist them." Tsunade started as Naruto started to freak out.

"Who took him?" Naruto asked quickly losing control of his calm and in all intents and purposes he was freaking out.

"From reports, it is believed that the Kazekage was taken by Akatsuki." Tsunade said.

_Somewhere On the Borders of the Land of Wind_

Kankurō fell to the ground in pain as the poison was slowly seeping into his veins. Looking up he saw the retreating form of Sasori of the Red Sands angry with himself for failing to save his little brother.

"Damnit." Kankurō said as he slowly lost consciousness.

_Kirigakure_

"Mizukage-sama, we are under attack!" A man in blue with an eye patch ran into the Mizukage's office.

"Who is it Ao?" The Mizukage asked standing up Chōjūrō with his giant sword right behind her.

"We believe its Akatsuki." Ao replied as the door blew open and standing in front of them was a male with orange spiked hair with purple eyes with rings among the irises standing next to him was a female with a white paper flower in her hair and another male with a swirling orange mask.

"It would be in your interest that you not resist" Said the orange mask shinobi in a deep voice.

"Like hell." The Mizukage said as she began to attack with Ao and Chōjūrō next to her. She was about to complete her seals until she and her companions were forced back by an invisible force. The three tried but failed to fight but after Ao was seriously injured they knew they had to get away.

"Mizukage-sama, please run away." Ao said as he lay on the ground. Shaking her head, she grabbed Ao and jumped out of her window Chōjūrō right behind her. The three and some others were able to run from the village as the three Akatsuki stayed in the office watching the groups retreating forms.

"This village should rejoice, their former Mizukage has returned." Orange mask said in delight as he turned to his companions. "Make sure you bring in the villagers so that we can put them under our control. This shall be part of my army and I want them all obedient to me."

"Of course." The spiked haired member said as the Rinnegan eyed man turned to look upon the village they just took over.

**A/N: So there ya go, Akatuski took over a village and Naruto and Sakura got a little closer...Lots Of Love**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey folks I am back. I am so sorry that this took a while but I only got back from vacation from Maui...so Hawaii and cute girls in bathing suits greater then story...I believe in being honest :P**

**This is a bit of a filler but still helpful, enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

_No Compromise_

"I'm going!"

"No you are not!"

"Why not?"

"Because this is a mission given by Baa-chan and I cannot be worried about looking after MY SISTER!" Naruto said his voice rising for each word.

"When did I ever need you to look after me WHEN WE DID SOMETHING DANGEROUS STUPID BROTHER?" Tsubaki screamed back in equal anger.

This was how Kakashi, Sakura, Tsunade, and Jiraiya found the two siblings after Naruto failed to show at the front of Konoha on time. The group knew better to get involved in this shouting match but they were behind schedule.

"I am just trying to protect you!"

"Shut up ni-san you are being stupid and stubborn again. What was the point of training me if you were going to leave me behind? I am going and that's that." Tsubaki said as she came out of the house with her backpack coming face to face with the gathered group. She looked at the group and stared at them as if saying _what are you looking at? _

"Tsubaki-chan what is going on?" Sakura asked as Naruto ran out of the house about to have another go with Tsubaki until he noticed too late who was waiting outside for him.

"Um, er, hm what's up?" Naruto said in his failed attempted to pretend nothing happened whatsoever.

"Naruto you are thirty minutes late, considering that you were the one who wanted to rush there we got a little worried." Kakashi said with his normal lazy look.

"Kakashi-san please tell my brother that I am going to come with your group and that is that." Tsubaki said to the elder man in a stubborn way of not acknowledging Naruto's presence.

"Tsubaki I am right here." Naruto said to the back of his little sister to no avail. Throwing his arms up in the air he looked towards the group for some help. There was no way anyone wanted to get in the idle of this situation and yet if they didn't there was going to be some serious repercussions from someone. Finally Jiraiya stepped forward and tried to be the voice of reason.

"Naruto I understand that this mission is important and you want to keep Tsubaki away from the danger, but in all honesty she can take care of herself and could be helpful."

"Are you serious? We are going to another country and we are facing a group of shinobi that are seriously dangerous." Naruto responded trying to win a losing battle.

"Naruto- you and Tsubaki have been traveling facing dangerous people for some time now I don't think this is much different." Tsunade said trying to stay calm. Her response it seemed was the wrong one as it set off Naruto into another rant about how there is dangers out there and how he couldn't be watching over Tsubaki every second if he was trying to get Gaara.

"Naruto that is enough." Jiraiya said in a stern voice that no one but Tsunade ever heard from him. He rarely got this serious and that said something. "Two years ago, we allowed to leave the village for two years to train with Tsubaki. We could not watch over you that entire time but we had faith in your capabilities. And now you have to do the same for your little sister. Like it or not she has to find her own way of the ninja with or without you." Jiraiya's proclamation sounded truth but it was hard for Naruto to swallow such truth.

"But….she is only eleven; she is way too young to go on such a dangerous mission." Naruto tried to reason.

"Oh…..and how old were you when you went off for a dangerous mission?" Jiraiya asked already knowing the answer.

"Thirteen." Naruto said tentatively remembering his mission when he faced off with Zabuza and Haku in the Land of Waves.

"Oh thirteen! Such a difference in age can do for you grandfather…truly do you mind telling us the wisdom you have for that extra two years?" Tsubaki responded with sarcasm flowing out of her mouth.

"Naruto….if I were you I would just give up and let her come. Besides she isn't officially a Kunochi of Konoha so she can do whatever she wants." Kakashi said trying to finish this conversation and move out of the village.

"Thank you Kakashi-san!" Tsubaki said excitedly knowing that he won the conversation for her. Naruto merely shook his head in resignation.

"Not cool Kakashi-sensei. Alright you can come but you stay close to me and don't do anything dangerous, you understand?" Naruto told his sister who nodded excitedly as she began run off to the front gates.

"I can't believe Naruto. Two years ago he would have done the complete opposite of what he told Tsubaki-chan" Sakura murmured getting a chuckle from the adults of the group. As the group walked on Jiraiya grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and began to whisper in his ear.

"I know that you are anxious to go and save Gaara. But please look out for yourselves, the group who kidnapped him are dangerous and they want you. Also be careful since it is your first official mission since your return there is a chance that you might be targeted again." Naruto nodded to this and continued to walk forward catching up with Sakura. _Be careful Naruto._

_In the Roots of Konoha_

"You know what to do. Get the Kyubi and bring it to the designated place. And if you fail…just go kill yourselves because there will be no place for you here." Danzo said to his Anbu squad kneeling before him. As Danzo finished giving his orders he turned and walked off deeper into the Roots compound until he came across a small dark room with one occupant in it. The man sat in the middle of the room crossed legged with a helmet on with wires connected to a machine. At the man's entrance he looked up and bowed to the elder. As Danzo walked towards the sitting man he placed his right hand on the man's helmet and with his one eye looked down at the other man. "Yō connect me" Danzo commanded not looking forward to this particular conversation. As Yō began to perform the seals chakra fused with Danzo's and he felt another presence with him.

"I thought I told you not to contact me Danzo." A man who Danzo could no see spoke in his head.

"I thought I should tell you that the Kyubi returned to Konoha and that Tsunade has sent him along with three others to Suna to help save the Ichibi."

"And?" The voice said uncaring

"And…..I thought I should tell you that I sent a squad out to capture the Kyubi. We will deliver him to you soon enough." Danzo thought he would get something good from this but what he got instead was the other man laughing at Danzo.

"You have no credibility Danzo. To me you are nothing more than a parasite that uses people above you to get whatever you want. You think I don't know that two years ago even though I told you I wanted the Kyubi delivered to me you had your own plans of taking the Kyubi and sealing it in a shinobi who is loyal to you?"

"But-"

"No buts! You promised me the Kyubi two years ago and you failed. Now you think you can take the Kyubi and deliver it to me and think I will still support your coup? Danzo, you are on thin ice, I would suggest that you do as I say and expect nothing in return. Otherwise you will have more to worry about." And with that the connection was disconnected and Danzo in his rage punch Yō into unconsciousness.

"Damn that man, I am the one in control not him." Danzo mumbled as he walked out the room.

_Road Between Konoha and Suna_

The four man team from Konoha traveled fast with little stops on the way. On their way they eventually came across Temari and filled her in on what had happened in her village which only caused them to hurry even more. So for two and a half days they traversed through forest and desert eventually coming upon Suna the majority exhausted while Naruto seemed like he could keep going. What the group didn't know was that Naruto was tapping into the Kyubi's chakra to allow him to keep going and even though it helped him mentally he was feeling strained. Upon their arrival to the town square with their escort of Suna shinobi they finally came face to face with Baki who looked like he hadn't slept since the Kazekage's kidnapping

"We are glad you made it so quickly. Please come with me we have a serious situation." As the group followed Baki he explained the current situation as well as how Kankurō had only a day ago was brought back severely wounded and what they believe that he was poisoned. This exclamation spurred the group to speed up until they finally stopped in the hospital room where Kankurō laid on the bed clearly in pain.

"Do something!" Temari roared at the attending doctors who jumped back away from her in fear.

"Forgive us Temari-sama, but your brother is under the effects of a poison that we never dealt with before. I am sorry but we don't know any current remedies that could help him at this point and in all honesty we don't think he will last much longer." The doctor's words were a harsh truth which only made Temari want to strangle the man until he stopped kicking. She however restrained herself and tried to calm herself. That was when Naruto walked up to the writhing Kankurō and placed his thumb on one temple and his index finger on the opposite temple. At first Temari wanted to know what Naruto was up to until her brother seemed to relax a little and his breathing became steadier.

"Acupressure, who knew it, would have helped?" One of the doctors whispered watching as Naruto backed away and Sakura took his place and began to do her own examinations. After five minutes of examining Kankurō and then reading his chart Sakura began to work.

_I guess this is what you get when you have Tsunade-sama's apprentice with you. _Kakashi thought as he watched his former student from the back of the room. As Kakashi was about to relax he noticed that Tsubaki had an odd look on her face as if she was concentrating. Before he could ask what was wrong Naruto and Baki rejoined them and they began to discuss efforts on retrieving Gaara. Unfortunately Baki told them that even though this was a dire situation, the elders have made it a point to make sure the defenses of the village was the priority over the retrieval of the Kazekage. This only resulted in Naruto losing his temper and going on a rant about the stupidity of the dumbass elders and how he wanted to go kick their asses until they changed their minds.

"Naruto-ni, please calm down. Sakura-nee needs to concentrate and your yelling is not helping her." Tsubaki said as the voice of reason as they watched Naruto back up in shame at his outburst. After a long out sigh Naruto nodded and walked off towards the benches outside the room. The group watched as Sakura and the doctors began to concoct a working antidote, what they wouldn't say to anyone in particular was that this would be dangerous and since they were doing it on the fly they would be hoping for the best. As the group prepared for their procedure Tsubaki stood up and went into the operating room.

"Tsubaki?" Naruto asked but he was completely ignored as the young girl stood right behind Sakura and put her arms behind her back.

"Sakura-nee, the poison is concentrated around the stomach, liver, pancreas, and the right lung." Tsubaki said getting shocked looks from the inhabitants of the room.

"How do you know that Tsubaki-chan? We only know that the poison attacks the body's organs." Sakura asked partially impressed partially perplexed. Tsubaki couldn't help but give Sakura a crooked smile as she looked at the pink heads confused face.

"Remember when I said I learned how to sense people? Well I detect people and things through the water that flows in them. The water in Kankurō-san is flowing oddly all over his body, but in the places that I named is where it is most abnormal."

"I am very impressed Tsubaki-chan, thank you for your help." Sakura told the girl as she gave her a smile of appreciation and then turned back to the others. "Well we know where we need to concentrate on, let's get started." As Sakura and the others began to get to work Tsubaki walked back to Naruto and the others who were deep in conversation. _Where did Naruto find this girl? _Sakura thought. The operation all together lasted for approximately two hours straight without stopping. Luckily Sakura was able to extract the majority of the poison from Kankurō's system and with the sample able to create an antidote. As Sakura left the doctors to collecting the needed herbs she along with Temari and Baki went to sit next to the others.

"So Naruto, when did you learn acupressure?" Temari asked as she sat down next to Sakura looking at the other blonde in curiosity.

"Yeah, Naruto when did you learn that, even the two years I spent learning medical jutsu from Tsunade-shishou we never really went over that area of medicine." Sakura asked curious as well.

"It's a long story." Naruto said having no desire to talk about it. Tsubaki nodded in affirmation as she knew well why Naruto didn't want to talk about it.

"Come on Naruto spill." Sakura said as she nudged him with her shoulder in a part flirty part humorous way. With a sigh Naruto closed his eyes and began to organize his thoughts.

_Flashback_

_Contested War Torn Countryside_

_Three Months Before Naruto and Tsubaki Returned to Konoha_

Naruto and Tsubaki had spent less than a week in this area and they already knew that tensions were way too high to spend much longer. It also didn't help that people were accusing each other of being the enemy and having two traveling strangers seemed to make them targets to everyone. "Tsubaki-chan we shouldn't linger too long in this area. Ever since this civil war broke out many people have resorted to becoming bandits." Naruto said without looking down on the younger girl as they continued down the road.

"Yes ni-chan" Tsubaki said as her eyes shifted to her brother. Suffice it to say it would be thanks to Jiraiya and Naruto that helped her with her training. Without their help she would have still felt like a useless weight to Naruto and that was definitely not what she wanted to be. With her training Tsubaki walked with a certain degree of confidence and light spring in her steps as if she couldn't be happier than at that moment. As Tsubaki crossed the roads with Naruto she couldn't help but notice how many children her age were on the streets. No they were not playing games or being normal children. Instead, many of them looked ragged and skinnier as if they hadn't eaten for some time. Other children looked like they were ready for war carrying various forms of weapons even though it was obvious that they never trained in their life. Call it empathy but Tsubaki could see in their eyes the pain of loss and lonely nights of not knowing if they were going to survive the next day. Their eyes showed the hunger that they could not sate. "Ni-chan why are so many people looking so ragged and, well they looked like me a couple years ago." Tsubaki whispered to the blonde who looked down on her.

"This is what happens during war." Naruto began in a somber tone of voice. True he never experienced war himself, but form what the stories Naruto heard from Jiraiya he could figure out that war was hell on everyone, even those not involved. "Because of the war many of the supplies that would have fed and clothed these villagers goes to their respective army. And with that, many civilians join the army in hopes of getting food and money from it while others resort to criminal acts to get by. It's the harsh truth, and I would recommend that you stay close by just in case." Naruto said while he put his arm around the young girls shoulder protectively as they began to speed up their walk. Unknown to Tsubaki but in clear notice of Naruto was that they were being followed by six young men. When the two were at a crossroads that was when they were approached by the six.

"Just leave your belongings on the ground and be on your way." One of them said in a rough tone of voice even though it was apparent that he was nervous.

"We just want to leave without trouble, please leave us be." Naruto said calmly while assessing the situation. From the looks of it, it was just six men maybe in their twenties each one holding a farming tool as a weapon and the one that spoke to them holding a sword that had seen better days. Apparently this was not what the group wanted to hear from Naruto so they charged in as one screaming and flailing their weapons. Naruto could already pick out every opening each person had as they approached the two in "slow motion". Tsubaki on the other hand seemed to be a little annoyed with the gang and merely rolled her eyes as she drew her kunai. As Naruto began to fight off the majority of the opponents, no it was less of a fight since all Naruto did was chopped his opponents behind the neck or against the chest which either knocked them out or stunned them. Tsubaki on the other hand, used her small stature and lithe body to fly around. She used one opponent as a springboard as she jumped off his chest and flew towards another opponent landing in a straddling position on their shoulders. From there she used a twisting motion that flipped the man upside down and flew him towards one of his associates. As Tsubaki was taking pride in her work she let her guard down long enough for the leader of the group to use his sword and slice her right side.

"Tsubaki!" Naruto roared as he just saw his sister go down holding her side. In a flash he was in front of Tsubaki protectively as he looked at her injury. With a quick glance it didn't look life threatening but it was enough to piss Naruto off. As he turned towards Tsubaki's assailant the very atmosphere around the group seemed to thicken. What scared the swordsman the most was how the blonde in front of him seemed to change his eye color and how his irises seemed to change unnaturally. Moving too quickly for a reaction Naruto punched the other man in the jaw and everyone still conscious could hear the sickening crunch as Naruto effectively dislocated his opponent's jaw. Turning to his right Naruto saw a man who still had some courage left in him as he charged with a hand held scythe , Naruto had loss all patience and would feel no pity for what he was about to do next. As Naruto began to charge towards his opponent he began to forma blue ball in his right hand. "Rasengan!" Naruto roared as he drove his hand into the man's chest and watched him fly away every one of the thieves watching their comrade go down with a heavy thud. They knew that this guy was someone not worth robbing. With that said and done the group of thieves collected their fallen comrades and ran away back towards their home. Sensing no danger, a calmed down Naruto turned towards Tsubaki and shook his head at her. "You got careless. Come on, we need to get off the road and get that looked at."

"Naruto-ni I'm fine." Tsubaki objected as she strained to stand straight up finally bending forward a little in pain.

"Idiot, that guy's sword was rusted, worst thing that could happen is if you got that cut infected and then you would have a lot more issues to deal with." Naruto said all serious.

"Alright fine!" Tsubaki said grudgingly as Naruto helped her to walk. The two walked for another half an hour until they came across a small one story house with a sign with a red cross signifying a medical establishment. The two entered the home and looked around. The house itself was nothing special and looked like it need dire repairs. To the right of them a man in his late fifties walked into the room and looked at the two youngsters.

"Come this way." The man said as he turned around back to the room he came from. Naruto and Tsubaki followed him a little nervous about this mysterious man. "Set her here" the man said as he pointed towards an examination table. Naruto led Tsubaki onto the table and was then shoved aside by the elderly man as he began to take care of the girl. "I don't know how you got this, but this definitely will need some stitches, and if you plan to get yourself hurt again I would recommend you to at least get this healed up first." The man said as he already began to thread the needle and prepare some medicine to numb the pain he was sure the young girl would experience soon enough.

It only took the man fifteen minutes to fix Tsubaki up and the only disturbance they got was when Tsubaki started to complain whatever the man was doing was hurting even though he reassured her it was just the sensation of him tugging the string and not actual pain. That didn't seem to make Naruto or Tsubaki happy at all.

"How much do we owe you?" Naruto asked as Tsubaki got off the table and examine her stitches in a vanity mirror set in the corner. Upon closer inspection the man in Naruto's eyes looked like a harmless man. His hands were calloused from the long hours he worked with his hands, he wore rimless glasses, and even with his graying hair Naruto could tell there was much life left in the man.

"Free of charge." The man said as he gave a fatherly smile towards Naruto. Naruto was shocked that this service was free, in all his life he knew nothing came free and Naruto had his own honor code of repaying debts no matter what.

"Come on old man there's gotta some sort of charge, trade, or something? I don't like being in debt to strangers you know." Naruto said with a smirk which seemed to make the man laugh at this young fellows antics.

"Well if you insist, I do need maybe some herbs collected, I am running short on some. If you are willing than your debt can be repaid. Here is a chart of the herbs I need, you can find them all just down the valley behind my house. My name is Junichirou by the way." The man said as he extended his hand for Naruto to shake, and he did. As Naruto and Tsubaki went to work colleting the carious herbs Naruto could not help remember looking at Junichirou's eyes and see a man who has seen and done much in his life, but most apparent was what Naruto could best describe as regret was most prominent on the man's face. With the help of the sheet Junichirou gave to the two they completed their task fairly quickly and hurried back to the house only to see that there was a large group of soldiers in the front who were al staring at Junichirou with a mix of annoyance and hostility.

"Come on old man be reasonable!" The man in front of the group yelled at Junichirou. "Our demands are fair and not that third to follow. Stop treating our enemies and commit your services to us and Shooto-sama. If you do you will get paid, protection, and everything else you wish."

"As I have already told your commander, I will stay neutral in this war and I will treat everyone regardless of their allegiance. No compromise, everyone has a right to live a long healthy life no matter what path they take" Junichirou said glaring at the gathering in front of him.

"Watch your tone, you already know that at a word from Shooto-sama we could destroy your little home. And then what will you do?" At those words the gathered soldiers began to pull out their weapons and prepare to do harm. In Naruto's eyes this act was degusting. What kind of person would attack a doctor for such reasons. Without thinking things through Naruto appeared right in front of the small force truly pissed off at how things turned out.

"How about you guys just stop what you are doing and just go back to whatever hole you came out of." Naruto said with a steel glare that showed that he had no intention of backing down. Junichirou looked at this young man with a mix of admiration and shock at the insanity.

"Listen kid, I don't care who you are or where you are from, but I will give you this one chance to turn around and go away. If you don't then you are nothing more than another acceptable loss of life." At those words the men began to approach Naruto once again. As the men started to charge at Naruto, he pulled out his own kunai and charged right back at them. What he didn't notice was that Tsubaki was right behind him with her own kunai.

"Tsubaki, you are in no condition to be fighting." Naruto said overprotectively. As Naruto and a soldier collided, Naruto used his speed to launch his opponent away from him as he turned around and parried another attacker.

" Naruto-ni, we can discuss this-" As Tsubaki tried to talk back to her brother she ended up sweeping her foot against a man who looked like he spent more time drinking then actually fighting. Hooking her foot around the man's ankle she tripped him and used his weight as her advantage as he fell hard on the ground where Tsubaki drove her knee into his sternum to ensure he wouldn't be getting up again. "We can talk about it later!" She yelled as she dodged an arrow. From his door Junichirou looked on in amazement as these two youngsters took on a force of twenty men with relative ease. On one side there was the teenager Naruto who took on his opponents hit for hit and didn't even look tired even after he dispatched his tenth opponent. Tsubaki on the other hand used her short stature and light body to fly around at incredible speed and hit her opponent somewhere serious then move on quickly to her next opponent. He didn't know where she learned to fight but she attacked parts of the body that would make sure that the person wouldn't be attacking her again for the duration of the fight.

As Naruto charged yet another opponent he was forced to jump back too late as a volley of arrow came at him. He was able to dodge the more dangerous arrows but he was still hit on his left forearm and his right calf. The wound was superficial at the most but it still hurt like hell. Knowing that his mobility would be cut in half from this wound Naruto did the only thing he could think of. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" Naruto said as he formed the seal and four extra Naruto's appeared. One went to Tsubaki's side to guard her, another went to Junichirou, and the last two went straight for the line of archers that shot at him.

"Shit, what's with this guy? " yelled the supposed leader of the group as he watched one of the clones simply punch out one of the archers. "What the hell are you all looking at take out the blonde!" Whatever remaining men that were left went straight to work on the clones. Soon enough the numbers game took hold and one clone was taken out from behind as the other was able to get away from another volley of arrows but was not able to dodge the swordsman who was right behind him waiting for him to land from his jump.

_Shit! _Naruto thought as he began to think what he could do next. He had plenty of chakra left so that was not the issue. The issue was the fact that he had to protect the old man and Tsubaki in a condition that was not favorable at all. With that decided Naruto could only think of one thing. "Hateshinai raikou gusoku" Naruto said as an armor of lightning began to envelope him. "Let's finish this" And at literal lightning speed Naruto charged at his opponents doing hit and runs all over the place. He would be at one person and then at super speed fly to the opposite side of the battlefield and take out another guy. This chaotic movement began to freak out many of the soldiers and some even threw down their weapons and began to run away. Only a few including the leader stayed behind.

"Get back here you cowards!" The leader yelled at the retreating forms of his men, but as he turned around he felt a force burst into his face as he flew backwards. The pain was indescribable and he was more than sure that his nose was broken. "Son of a bitch! Retreat!" the man yelled as he and the rest of his force withdrew from the small medical clinic. As the retreating forms finally disappeared from sight Naruto released his technique and fell to one knee

"Naruto-ni!" Tsubaki yelled as she ran towards the fallen form of her brother.

"I'm alright Tsubaki-chan, just out of breathe" Naruto said trying to reassure the younger girl

"The hell you are. You were injured and you decided to use something like that, I don't know what technique that was but I know for a fact that it strained your already injured body. You are coming inside to rest and I will take care of those injuries. The both of you!" Junichirou said as he began to go back into his clinic.

"Tsubaki-chan, mind helping me out here? It kinda hurts moving."

"Naruto-ni, you overdo things way too much." Tsubaki said with a sad smile. All she got in response was his cheeky smile that seemed to always make her start to giggle.

_Army Camp_

"I am telling you the truth Shooto-sama, my men were taken out but this blonde headed kid and a brown haired girl. These kids were really strong and from what I could tell they are shinobi." The leader of the band of men that just came back from Junichirou's clinic said as he knelt in front of a man in his mid-forties with graying hair but with a body that could have been mistaken for a younger one. In one hand he held a katana that was sheathed but readily available. On the other hand held a glass of wine while his arm looped around a girl half his age. Nothing could be said but that he was a lecherous man who liked to indulge in many things.

"Interesting" Shooto said as he began to rub his chin. "What do you think Hiruko?" The man said as he turned to his left where a man stood. He was bare chested and well-tanned with muscles protruding all over, he had an air of superiority that made all other men give him a wide berth. Lazily he looked at his commander and just gave him a toothy grin showing off his yellow teeth.

"it would be nice to not feel bored whenever I fight." Hiruko said in a gravelly voice as he started to stretch his arms.

_Medical Clinic_

After Junichirou took cared of Tsubaki and Naruto he gave the two teenagers a look only a man who had half a mind to spank these two would have

"Mind telling me what you were thinking? You only caused more trouble and got yourself hurt in the process." Junichirou said

"We just wanted to help" Tsubaki said in a shy voice.

"I know but you should have stayed out of it, I am too valuable for them to do any real harm to me. They burn down my house and threaten me but then they leave me alone. It always happens."

"Why were they after you anyways old man?" Naruto asked as he jumped off the table and started to stretch out the spots where he got injured.

"Trust me boy, this is a matter that you don't have to get into." The doctor said as he began to clean his utensils not even looking at Naruto or Tsubaki. "It would be best if you took your sister and got out of this land before they come back with reinforcements."

"Old man, you don't know who I am, but I am Uzumaki Naruto and I sure as hell not a type of person to run away from a fight if I can't help it. Especially if it is to help someone."

"You are one odd boy….I have a feeling that your philosophy has gotten you into loads of trouble."

"Yup" Naruto said without pause.

"You have no idea." Tsubaki muttered as she shook her head.

"Alright, but don't go complain when I tell you and you get way over your heads." Junichirou said with resignation as he began to collect his thoughts. If you want to know how I got here I suppose you should also know about my past so many years ago. When I was twenty-three my wife Lilith and I moved into this countryside and opened our own practice. I would do the chief surgery and my wife would assist me. No matter what happened or how hard it came my wife insisted that we save all life as they were equal. No compromise, she would always remind me. We were quite happy and soon enough my wife became pregnant. It wasn't planned but we were extremely happy. And then that day happened." The doctor said as he began to rub the palms of his hands against his eyes. Naruto and Tsubaki watched him with anticipation to know how a grumpy old man could have ever been so happy as he claimed.

"When my wife went into labor there were complications during the birth. Suffice it so say that I was able to save my new born son Shinji, but something happened and my wife started to bleed profusely. I tried to save her but she already lost too much blood and I was fighting a lost cause. There was no way that I knew of that could have saved her, the only way was if the God of Death himself decided not to take her. It was more of when my wife would die rather than if she would live." A single tear fell from Junichirou's face as he remembered that day, there was an uncomfortable silence as Junichirou collected himself. "At the same time there was an accident about half a mile away from my clinic. A boy no older than your sister was stampeded over by a loose horse. The beast crushed the boy's ribs and stuck one into his right lung. The operation itself would have been easy enough for me to perform. But I refused to help him because I was to focused on saving my wife. My wife died shortly after and when I finally composed myself enough to go help the boy he already bled out as well. I remember it as if it were yesterday, I remember the last words my wife breathed to me as she passed on was two simple words. No Compromise. Two words that held a simple philosophy that all life was equal and if one had the power to help someone regardless of who they were it was my obligation to fulfill my duty. So a day when I could have saved one life, I forsook for that boy for my dying wife who would have died no matter what. After that day I stopped my practice and took my time raising my son. I always repeated those two words to my son so that he would grow up with the same values of his mother. When he became of age he left to join the armed forces. Even though I told him I didn't like it he wanted to prove that he was grown up and the army at the time were paying well enough."

With a great sigh Junichirou looked at the two with a sad look that was mixed with anger. "A year since my son joined the army his squad was ambushed and my son became yet another casualty. I was so angry that I blamed everyone, form the son's commander to those damned revolutionists that killed my son. I was so angry that one day when those revolutionists brought one of their comrades who had a stab wound that I thought of just letting him die. But then I remembered my wife and son and the lesson that I had drilled into my memory. So I save that young man's life and continued to do so for both factions. I didn't care who they were or what they did, if they were injured it was my duty to help them. I found a new purpose and that drove me to this current situation I am in now. Both factions want me to exclusively work for them and stop helping their enemies, but I had made it a point to say that all would receive my help." As Junichirou finished his story he looked at Naruto for any reaction to see if he would react in disgust or support. What he didn't expect to see was Naruto to simply nod while Tsubaki simply closed her eyes with a frown on her face.

"Well that does put you in a situation old man." Naruto began as he then looked around the clinic. "You do know that it is only going to get harder for you."

"Yes I know."

"How about we help you until this gets resolved?" Naruto said as he smile at the man.

"Why would you do that. You have no reason to help me and this is clearly not your problem." Junichirou was flabbergasted at this offer.

"What Naruto-ni wants to say is that, for a person for such a goal they will need the help. And besides, you are the one who kept saying no compromise." Tsubaki aid with a smile slowly growing on her face.

"She's right, and besides you are the one who said if we have the power to do something we have to do it right? Besides we still owe you for the treatments." Naruto said while laughing.

"You two are idiots. But at least you are the decent sort of idiots." Junichirou said shaking his head at the two. And so for the next four days Naruto and Tsubaki worked with Junichirou helping him restock his supplies and becoming his assistants. While working with the doctor, Naruto and Tsubaki learned the basics of medical treatment and some advance skills that would benefit a shinobi in training. In the early hours of the fifth day the clinic and its occupants were met with a small army of fifty men along with Hiruko and the commander Shooto. When the three came face to face with this substantial force they really didn't have any plan. Sure Naruto and Tsubaki were fully healed, but Junichirou was an old man and they were outnumbered to the point that running away would be pointless.

"Are you telling me that that blonde haired boy took out your squad captain?" The man next to him confirmed his question while Shooto gave Naruto another glance. "I am beginning to question your value captain. Hiruko what do you think?"

"The kid looks like he has seen his share of action, but in all honesty he doesn't look like anyone worth worrying about."

"Then get rid of him."

"Of course. Hey blondie, you and me one on one." Hiruko yelled at Naruto who was finally registering that he was the blondie that they were talking about

"How do I get into these things?" Naruto said to no one in particular.

"Do you really want me to answer that Naruto-ni?" Tsubaki said as she looked at the man name Hiruko. Sure he was well built but she couldn't see anything worth worrying about .

As Naruto and Hiruko faced off the large army began to chant for their comrade. As Naruto charged towards the man he went for a right jab which Hiruko moved his head to avoid. Naruto then went for a barrage of punches and kicks, but to no avail as Hiruko either blocked or moved out of the way from his attacks. When Naruto tried for yet another punch, Hiruko blocked the attack and sent his right knee into Naruto's gut effectively making him fall back catching his breathe.

"You're not really anybody special blondie." Hiruko said tauntingly.

"Screw you!" Naruto said as he charged for another go. _What's with this guy? I throw everything at him and he is dodging them like nothing. _Naruto thought. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" Naruto said as ten more clones appeared and attacked at the same time. What they didn't expect was for the man to dodge every attack and hit every one of them.

"What is wrong with Naruto-ni? He has never had this type of trouble with anyone before." Tsubaki asked with obvious worry in her voice.

"That man is Hiruko." Junichirou answered. "He is the right hand man of Shooto and he is what one would call a rarity. From what I could pick up from gossip and rumors he has something what he calls pre-flex. He can read the smallest movements of your muscles or the way your eyes and face look to determine what you would do. And with his ridiculous reaction time able to block and counter his opponents. He is a very troublesome opponent for your brother." As Junichirou finished his explanation Hiruko did a rising palm strike to Naruto's chin and sent him flying with his jaw hurting like hell.

"God damnit, this guy is ridiculously strong." _Shit, so this guy can basically react to everything that I do before I even do it? Shit this guy is almost a big a pain in the ass as Sasuke is. _As Naruto got up he went in to charge creating more clones only to be pushed back once again. _What the hell can I do? _"Hateshinai raikou gusoku" Naruto said as he went in for another attack. Quick as a flash he flew to Hiruko's side and went in for strike only to be deflected and then put down from a back fist strike.

"Heh that was a tricky move you tried to do, but it was nothing to me. We had reports of that fancy jutsu of yours and I was prepared to take you on if you used it. I almost didn't see you if it weren't for the fact that I saw the lightning tendrils stop to my side. All I did form there was react, for someone like me, it was simple." Hiruko said in a snobbish tone of voice.

"Naruto-ni don't give up!" Tsubaki cheered which seemed to calm Naruto just a bit. _Tsubaki thanks._ Naruto thought as he collected his thoughts when a crazy idea came into his head.

"Hehe, let's see the pre-flex react to this. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" Naruto called as fifty clones appeared. The collective thought that seemed to float between the army, Hiruko, and Junichirou was _Who the hell is this boy? _As the Naruto army attacked Hiruko, the man got into a serious defensive stance and began to take on the small army. He was able to use his pre-flex and was able to dispatch many of the clones easily while others were able to get a glancing blow. When Hiruko thought he had this all in the bag he heard his fellow soldiers yell for him to look behind him too late as he felt a searing pain in his back. "Rasengan" _Hehe, sure you can react to all those attacks, but I doubt you can react to something you can't see. _The Original Naruto hid among his clones and while Hiruko was occupied with the large force against him Naruto began to form the swirling ball and merely waited for an opening. And with that Hiruko flew fifty meters away slowly losing consciousness. _I can't believe I lost to a brat like him!_ Hiruko thought as he finally succumbed to the darkness.

"Kill them! Kill all of them! Leave nothing! Burn down the clinic" Shooto roared at his gathered forces that began to recover from their initial shock at Hiruko's loss. As Naruto regrouped with Junichirou and Tsubaki the group ran into the clinic and began to barricade the door and windows from the approaching force.

"If I were you kids I would start thinking of leaving this old man and saving yourselves." Junichirou told the two.

"Like hell we would do that" Tsubaki said as Naruto nodded in agreement.

"We don't have time for you two to act all chivalrous. Forget about me and get out of here."

"BURN DOWN THE CLINIC AND MAKE SURE NONE OF THEM GET OUT!" The group heard Shooto yell as arrows of fire began to pelt the clinic.

"Shit, we gotta think of something" Naruto said out loud thinking a mile a minute. "Tsubaki try to find a back way out that isn't too crowded with those guys." As the girl went to do what she was asked to do Naruto noticed how quickly the fire was spreading from the doors and windows to the roof

"Must be arrows soaked with oil." Junichirou commented calmly backing away from the heat. As Naruto was still transfixed with what to do he was roughly pushed out of the way. Finally getting up Naruto looked in horror as a burning beam from the roof fell and pinned Junichirou to the ground. The old man saved his life and it only cost him his life. "Naruto…..take your sister and get out of here. This beam crushed my leg and punctured my lungs. If I don't die from this fire I'll drown from the blood rushing to my lungs. Heh, that is ironic. Forget about this old man and live. Oh and Naruto, remember, those who have that special quality are meant for great things and I know for a fact you are one of those. Just don't forget that with those gifts you need to look after those around you, and to never compromise your integrity. All life is of value." With Junichirou's parting words Naruto turned away from the dying man.

"Thanks old man."

"Lilith….Shinji…wait for me" Junichirou whispered as his spirit was finally released from its earthly confines. As Naruto neared Tsubaki, she could read form the way her brother walked towards her that something had happened.

"Naruto-ni where's Junichirou-san?" As she asked she noticed the lifeless body lying in the other room.

"He's left to see family." Naruto said sadly as Tsubaki began to tear up.

"We can't do anything with that army in the way we need to make a path Naruto-ni."

"Let me deal with that then." Naruto said with anger slowly growing in his voice. Once again in a short time, Uzumaki Naruto was pissed off. Bursting through the clinic's roof Naruto surveyed the forces around him. Turning to the group in front of a forest line Naruto began to form seals "Raijin no yari" As Naruto threw his lightning spear he looked at Tsubaki. "Tsubaki get into the forest I'll be right behind you" Naruto yelled as the girl nodded and ran through the path her brother created. Naruto turned around and look at the left over forces and Shooto. "Seiryū no Shitenno " Naruto said as he formed his seals and unleashed the wind dragon upon the army. Several were blown away while others were effectively crushed. As Naruto came face to face with Shooto, Naruto could see the fear in the man's eyes.

"What do you want? Money? I have money. Or maybe you want some pretty women? I have plenty of those too." Shooto said pleadingly as he tried to bargain with this mysterious blonde.

"You have nothing I want, but I will give you something good." As Naruto finished his sentence chakra chains erupted out of him and connected with Shooto who screamed in surprise. _Kyubi your up._

"**On it." **In a dark room Shooto looked around in confusion not knowing what was going on. One moment he was face to face with the blonde named Naruto and then he is in this dark room by himself. Shooto felt a hot breath on his back which forced him to snap around to look at what caused it. What he came face to face was a monster fox that gave him a menacing glare. The giant claws the feral eyes and that evil essence that just leaked out of the beast was something out of his nightmare. With a roar the giant fox swiped at the commander who felt his entire left side get crushed.

Back in reality Shooto fell to the ground as he is entire left side was left broken and foam began to flow out of his mouth. At the mysterious collapse of their leader the army gathered their fallen and ran away from this blonde demon. Calming down Naruto flashed to Tsubaki's side who was a quarter mile away from the battle field. With one last look at the burning clinic and putting his arm around the young girl the two walked away.

_Present_

"So that's how things turned out. After we left we heard news on how there was a power struggle within the army on who would fill in Shooto's position since he was comatose With that struggle the revolutionists swept through and took over." As Naruto finished his story there was a collective silence from everyone taking in the story.

"Well I am glad you made it out just fine Naruto." Sakura said as she subconsciously took Naruto's hand and began to rub her thumb across his knuckles. This action was noticed by everyone. Naruto blushed while Tsubaki started to snicker. Temari looked on and merely shook her head while smiling at the brashness of the pink head. As for Kakashi he gave the two a lazy stare while thinking. _When did this happen?_

"Sakura-san the herbalists have collected the needed ingredients and have asked for your help" Baki said as he entered the hall with the gathered group. "As for the rest of you, you can take up in our rooms to rest while we wait for Sakura-san."

_Somewhere in the Desert_

The three Root members sat in the rock formation as they waited for their fourth member. When the fourth finally appeared they began to go over the information that they had gathered.

"The Kyubi is currently in Suna with his companions." One spoke.

"It is too risky to go in and take him now. From our sources the Kyubi will leave the village soon enough in attempt to retrieve the Kazekage. We will take him then." The leader spoke while looking over a map of the country. "For now, we wait."

_Land of Grass_

As an unconscious Gaara laid on the ground there stood a giant statue with two pupils while seven others were white. On each of its fingers stood shinobi with black cloaks, seven holograms and two there actually. As the leader looked at the collected gathering his eyes showed a deep purple with rings. Finally he looked down upon the prone body of Gaara with an unseen sigh then looked up at once again.

"Let us begin the extraction of the Ichibi."

**Jutsu:**

******Hateshinai raikou gusoku (Everlasting Lightning Armor)**

**********Raijin no yari (Spear of The Thunder God)**

**************Seiryū no Shitenno (Four Heavenly Kings of Seiryū) **

******************Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clones Technique)**

******************A/N: It has come to my attention that there are certain people who dislike my story. First of all that is fine everyone has their own likes and dislikes...However if you continuously message or review saying what is wrong or how this story sucks or how the characters are not plausible here is what I have to say to you. First of all it's a fanfic, my story my characters. Second, if you have a problem or don't like my story don't read it. Lastly, there is a differene with constructive criticism and out right trolling, if you have a suggestion to make my story better go for it, but don't give me vague messages saying that the story sucks or has no structure if you can't back it up********************. Take care all. **

******************I am already working on the next chapter and also thinking of new plots for new stories...so keep reading**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the uber late update, to be fair I hav ebeen busy with alot of stuff. Hopefuly this chapter with remind you that you guys love me enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own a car, a dog but not Naruto...someday...probably not**

_A Lack Of Time_

Naruto and company spent the night preparing for their rescue mission for Gaara much to Naruto's ire. Kakashi had sent Paku and his ninja hounds out using Gaara's scent to find him wherever he went. Sakura was still resting from work with Kankurō, she didn't go to bed until three in the morning but she was able to create an antidote to counteract the poison. Tsubaki went to Naruto's room with her backpack and a light step in her feet. As she entered the room she saw that Naruto's bed was a mess and his bag was laying on it packed. Naruto stood before the window feet apart, shoulders hunched, and hands gripping the sides of the window frame to the point that his hands showed white.

_He's upset._ Tsubaki thought as she cleared her throat get the attention of her brother who turned around and merely nodded to her in acknowledgment.

"Are we ready yet?" Naruto said in a tight voice not really showing his usual cheerful side.

"Sakura-san is getting up, and Kakashi-san's ninja hounds returned. They have already placed a marker on our map and we will leave soon. I also overheard Baki-san telling Kakashi-san that they received a message from Konoha saying that the Hokage sent reinforcements." This seemed to catch Naruto's attention as he raised an eyebrow staring at his little sister.

"Anyone I know?" He asked fully turning towards Tsubaki as he walked towards the door.

"I don't know them but Kakashi mumbled about Guy." At this Naruto started to chuckle as he thought of Team Guy and how he had missed them even Neji, even though he had a tendency to exaggerate his importance yet seemed to cool down since he started to become closer with Hinata.

"Well we might as well meet up with the others than" Naruto said with a light voice as he sighed and walked out the room with a pat on the shoulder to Tsubaki who followed right behind him. As the two entered the room they came across Kakashi and Sakura talking to Temari and Baki. In the corner stood to elderly people a woman and man both wearing the traditional clothing of civilians of Suna. The group turned towards Naruto as if he came in looking for trouble.

"Naruto, good morning." Sakura said in a slight surprise. "We are just finalizing loose ends. Temari-san and Baki-san will not be able to come with us but they are giving us enough supplies to last the mission." As if on cue the elderly woman from the corner walked forward and cleared her throat.

"Although we cannot help you physically we will give you information that could help you. All Akatsuki members work in pairs. The pair that attacked us is both well known. The one that most likely attacked the village and took the Kazekage was Deidara formerly of Iwagakure and a specialist with chakra enhanced explosives. The second is the responsible for poisoning Kankurō and through his confirmation we are sure that the second member was Sasori." For some reason the elderly woman seemed to pause as if this revelation was supposed to mean something to the Konoha shinobi. However the Suna Shinobi tensed at this meaning it was a serious problem. "Sasori is a master puppet user and was the founder of the puppet brigade. Many of the puppets used in the current puppet brigade are based on Sasori's creations."

"How do you know so much about him?" Tsubaki said cocking her head at the elderly woman. Clearing his throat Baki stepped forward.

"Chiyo-baasama has been an elder of this village for since the third Great Ninja War she along with her brother are familiar with much of the coming and going to the Shinobi world." Looking awkward, Baki shifted his eyes towards the elderly woman without turning his head looked back at the Konoha shinobi. "As for Sasori, he is Chiyo-baasama's grandson." This revelation seemed to catch the Konoha off guard not knowing how to respond to this. Fortunately for them, Tsubaki lacked the tact to be polite.

"Well that could make things awkward." The eleven year old girl said to no one in particular causing Naruto to stifle a chuckle which earned him a solid elbow to the ribs from Sakura. Out of confusion the two turned to a full-hearted chuckle which came from Chiyo who seemed not to take offense to Tsubaki's brashness.

"You got cheek girl. And disregard what this bandage head said about not sending help with you. I'm going with you and this is not a democracy you youngsters, I'm going."

_Pushy woman. _Naruto and Tsubaki thought at the same time.

"We appreciate your help and we will leave within the hour." Kakashi said as he bowed to the elder. As the adults continued to discuss plans Naruto, Tsubaki, Temari, and Sakura approached the bedridden Kankurō who just was trying for the fourth time to get out of bed.

"Kankurō I don't know what you are thinking but you are staying right where you are." Temari said in her elder sister tone that seemed to cow the puppet user.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine, and I am going to help them get back Gaara." Kankurō said once again struggling to get up only to be pushed down by his sister.

"For once just listen to me? You almost died; you would only hinder the retrieval team in your condition." Temari said with a hard voice not in the mood since Baki insisted that she wouldn't be helping the retrieval team. In fact to her, it was a personal blow to her pride that they had to rely on Konoha to save their Kazekage. Don't get her wrong, she had nothing against the Leaf Shinobi, it was just the very fact that the elders put the rescue of their Kazekage as a third priority.

"Fine, I'll stay but only until they let us out then I am in the first group out."

"And I will be with you." The sibling bonding seemed to cool the tense atmosphere.

"Well whatever you do, we will have saved Gaara by then." Naruto said with his trademark grin. Tsubaki gave the siblings the peace sign with a toothy smile, and Sakura just covered her mouth as she stifled a laugh.

"Then you better get going then." Kankurō said as he laid his head back down on his pillow closing his eyes preparing to rest some more.

As the retrieval team exited the entrance to Suna they started to head towards the Grass nation towards the last known location of the Akatsuki and Gaara.

_Hang on Gaara, we're on our way. _Naruto thought with hardened determination. Unknown to the group they were being distantly followed by four masked pursuers each one having the same goal.

"When shall we attack?" One of them asked.

"We wait until it is best in our advantage. Hatake Kakashi is still a formidable opponent as well as the Godaime's apprentice. As for the others we have yet to know the capabilities of the elderly woman and the younger female. Furthermore the last group that underestimated the Kyubi failed and has been disposed by Danzo-sama. We wait." The supposed leader said in a long winded explanation as the four began to pull back to give the group in front of them a larger berth. The leader clenched and unclenched his fists that were in fact covered by sharp nailed gauntlets. He looked down at his hands and flexed his hands once more before looking forward once more in complete focus.

"Naruto, slow down!" Kakashi yelled at the blonde for the third time since they left the village. Naruto's desire to move as fast as possible to save Gaara was understandable. It however did not justify Naruto being 50 yards ahead of the rest of the group.

"We don't have time to slow down!" Naruto yelled behind him as he pushed forward even further.

"Naruto-ni, we have to slow down or we'll be tired when we get there and how are we supposed to help Gaara-san?" Tsubaki said and everyone looked at her in surprise. It wasn't that she wasn't a smart girl, it was just that what she said made really good sense and they just didn't expect it coming from her.

"Wha-What?" Tsubaki asked looking a little scandalized.

"Nothing" The group said in a once in a lifetime unison chorus. The group made great time towards their goal only stopping once to rest. Well the group rested while Naruto moved from one foot to another restlessly.

_Stupid stamina freak_. Tsubaki thought as she looked on her brother. The guy had always had ridiculous stamina demon fox or no demon fox. As they moved onwards with little interruption until they came across someone they least expected. After crossing the border between the Wind Country and the Grass Country the team came face to face with Uchiha Itachi.

"Greetings Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun." The silence between the group was tense only to be broken by the audible gulp coming from Naruto. Naruto knew enough about Itachi to know he was no ally of theirs and he was someone that you would only take lightly if you had a death wish.

"Naruto-kun, you will be coming with me." Itachi said in an emotionless tone of voice as his Sharingan eyes stared straight forward at the group.

"So not only me, but Gaara too?" Naruto said with anger rising in his throat.

"In order to fulfill our goals, sacrifices have to be given." Itachi said indifferently.

"Like hell it will!" Naruto said as he began to charge forward only to be stopped by Kakashi.

"Naruto calm down. Itachi is not someone we can beat because we tried harder." Kakashi said always the strategist.

"So what do we do?" Naruto asked not in the mood.

"We attack together." Kakashi said as he stepped to the side with Naruto coming to his right and Sakura coming to his left. Chiyo and Tsubaki took to the back ready to pounce when needed. As Sakura punched the ground to make the ground uneven Kakashi charged in. As Itachi and Kakashi traded blows Kakashi had to duck as a triple barrage of shurikens by Itachi nearly took his other eye out. Itachi had to dodge as Sakura came in for another punch that made a crater where he once stood. As the dust cleared the Konoha trio widened their eyes as they stared at not only one Itachi but three Itachi. As the Itachi trio came and paired off against with Sakura, Kakashi, and Naruto the pressure increased.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu" The Itachi clones said all at once as three giant fire balls came at the three Konoha shinobi. The three were able to get out of harm's way putting distance from each other.

"Careful, most likely the real Itachi is not among these three." Chiyo advised not knowing the absolute truth she just said. As Naruto and "Itachi" traded punches Naruto did the thing he shouldn't have done and looked Itachi in the eyes.

"Crap." Naruto mumbled as he was trapped in the genjutsu.

"Naruto-ni!" Tsubaki yelled as she went forward going to save her brother but stopped suddenly when she got yelled at by Kakashi.

"Tsubaki, stay where you are. Naruto can handle himself, and you would only get in his way."

Tsubaki knew Kakashi was right but she wasn't happy where this situation ended her with. So all she could do was watch and wait.

Stuck in the illusion Naruto faced off with Itachi. At first nothing happened it was two shinobi standing several feet away just staring at each other. Of course Naruto was not the patient type so he did what only came naturally to him.

"What the fuck are you waiting for?" Naruto roared at Itachi who still had yet to move.

"Naruto-kun, what is your dream?" Itachi's question was totally unexpected and Naruto had to take a moment to figure out what Itachi's plan was.

"It's none of your business." Naruto said defensively, but that didn't seem to deter Itachi as he just continued to stare. With a bug sigh and a roll of the eyes Naruto answered. "My dream has always been to become Hokage so that I can protect everyone."

"Everyone? And what of my brother."

"What about him? I'm still going to bring him back to Konoha even if I have to knock him out and drag him back from hell." To Naruto he saw Itachi as emotionless but in reality Itachi's eyes widened just enough for someone with acute observation abilities to see that he had a look of mild surprise.

"Why? He left you and the village. He left you half dead. What makes you think that you can save him?"

"Because I know the darkness in people's hearts and I am not letting Sasuke to go there. I am going to save him because he is the brother that I always wanted and I know for a fact that I am a better brother than you." Naruto punctuated his accusation with a pointing of his finger still glaring at Itachi.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you are an interesting existence." Itachi said with a genuine smile. "A storm is coming Naruto-kun and the future of the entire world will rest in this balance. Many lives fates are intertwined with each other, including yours and mine. I hope you never change." Naruto didn't know what to say. On one side, Itachi was an enemy but the way Itachi was talking he was acting like they were friends.

"**Hey kid, you plan to get out of his genjutsu anytime soon?" **The Kyubi said for the first time in a long time.

"What the- where the heel have you been. And what do you mean; you are supposed to be the one who is supposed to help me out of this. In fact, why the hell haven't you done that yet?"

"**Because you didn't ask." **The Kyubi said just for the sake to be difficult.

_Why that shitty fox! _Naruto thought

"**I heard that." **The Kyubi said teasingly

"Whatever just get me out." And with that being said Naruto was released by the genjutsu and stared at the Itachi in front of him once more. "Bring it!" Naruto said as he charged Itachi forming a Rasengan in his right hand. Itachi just stood there looking at the oncoming ball of chakra, until the last second where Naruto thought he would make contact but was rejected when Itachi grabbed Naruto's wrist and crushed it making Naruto scream and discharge his Rasengan. Trying to pry himself free from Itachi Naruto tried to fight with his legs when Tsubaki came down with a death from an above cannonball that launched her off Itachi's chest.

"Thank you Tsubaki." Naruto panted out.

"I'm staying right here and helping you." Tsubaki said grumpily. While this was going on Kakashi and his Itachi fought to a stale mate. As for Sakura she was having more difficulty with her Itachi since she had yet to learn how to fight properly against a Sharingan and Itachi was frighteningly fast when it came to fighting. With the barrage of fire attacks and projectiles Sakura couldn't even get close to the elder Uchiha. When she thought she was going to be cornered once more as Itachi launched himself forward for another barrage, Itachi stumbled just a little. The brief pause seemed to confuse both Sakura and Itachi until the Uchiha turned towards Chiyo.

"I assume that was you're doing Chiyo-baasama?" Itachi asked as he used a kunai that he drew out of his sleeve to cut chakra strings attached to his limbs.

"Sakura focus." Chiyo told the Pink head.

"Hai!" Sakura responded.

Back to Naruto and Tsubaki the two began to work in unison. Tsubaki went to the left as she began to form seals while Naruto created five shadow clones to draw Itachi's focus. Even if Naruto had superior numbers his clones were quickly dispelled by Itachi who barely seemed to move at the hindrance. But it was long enough for Tsubaki to finish her seals.

"Suiton: Mizudeppō" Tsubaki shot out a compressed ball of water at the Uchiha who merely stepped back from the attack but not before he came face to face with a faster than an eye can see Naruto.

"Hateshinai raikou gusoku" Naruto did a quick jab to Itachi who blocked the punch but had to step back a few steps from the force of the punch. As he was righting himself up Naruto slammed a Rasengan into Itachi's chest which caused the explosion that defeated the elder Uchiha and to everyone else's surprise dispel Itachi's other clones. "Got you." Naruto said triumphantly as he dropped to one knee slightly out of breathe.

"Are you injured Naruto?" Sakura asked a little worried over the blonde as he continued to pant. Naruto shook his head and tried to stand right back up but stumbled. Who knew that a technique that he used not too long ago would almost drain him now? As Naruto tried for a third time to stand straight up he was forcefully pushed back down by Sakura. "You are going to stay right there until I say that you can stand up." Sakura said threateningly which at first Naruto looked like he was going to act rebellious until Sakura cracked her knuckles which made Naruto more than obedient.

_Somewhere Else At the Same Time_

Uchiha Itachi sat cross-legged in meditation as he stared at his partner, Hoshigaki Kisame as he too reverted back from his meditation.

"So you lost too huh? Anything worth knowing?" Kisame asked as he only got a shrug from the Uchiha who continued to meditate. "Can't believe I got beat by that green wearing freak again." Kisame said in disbelief. Unknown to Kisame was that Itachi was smirking just a little at his partner's displeasure.

_Flashback_

"So I guess it time to stop those Konoha shinobi. I will see you when you are done." Kisame said to Itachi who nodded in confirmation. As Kisame closed his eyes to concentrate he did not notice the shadow clone that Itachi created off in the distance that began to run as fast as it could away from the two. Twenty minutes into its travel it came across a man who had seen better days. His clothes were dirty and torn, his sandals looked like that were wrapped in cloth to keep it together and he wore a hate that looked like it had a large stain on it and Itachi did not want to to know what kind of stain.

"The hell you want?" The man asked as he only heard the approaching footsteps and not the person. But when he stood up and turned to face this person, his eyes widened and he nearly tripped over his sandals form backing away from fright. "You! What do you want?" The man asked/yelled.

"I want you to deliver something to someone." Itachi said as the man fell to his Sharingan. The man's eyes dulled and his pupils all but disappeared. Itachi then gave the man a small folded note that looked like nothing of importance. "Go to Konoha and deliver this to Jiraiya." The man took the note and put it in his pocket and nodded to Itachi before he turned and started to run as fast as he could towards Konoha. The poor man never realized that he was Jiraiya's informant's messenger, and Itachi liked it that way.

_Present _

"Let us just finish this so that we can move on. We still need to capture your target." Itachi said emotionlessly.

"Of course." Kisame said showing off his shark lie teeth.

_Back With Naruto & Company_

"This man is definitely from Suna, I believe he was an elder." Chiyo said as she examined the dead body before them. "If Akatsuki has found a way to infiltrate our village then it is no surprise that the Kazekage was captured without the outer defenses alerting us."

"It doesn't matter. We need to hurry and get there now." Naruto said finally catching his breathe but yet to have returned to full strength. As the group moved on, only Kakashi and Tsubaki noticed that they were not alone.

"Kakashi-san" Tsubaki said sensing the group following them. Kakashi shook his head and merely looked with his eyes telling her to wait until they figured out what the group was after. As Naruto's group continued on for another hour of travel it was then that they decided to rest as they would soon be upon their destination. As the group settled down Naruto started to lull to a soft sleep.

"Now?" The Root member asked seeing that the Kyubi was not at full strength nor was any other member. The leader looked on at the camped group and raised his hand and chopped it downwards as a signal to attack and so they did. What they didn't expect was a barrage of kunai coming at them from Kakashi and Tsubaki who were waiting on what they wanted. The sudden movement put the rest of the group on guard form their new masked opponents.

"Are you Root ANBU after Naruto again?" Kakashi asked clearly not happy with this sudden attack. Sakura and Naruto got in a defensive stance and Chiyo looked on confused as to why Konoha's Root ANBU would be after one of their own.

"Give us the Kyubi." A masked member asked. And the mystery was solved before it got to confusing. Chiyo looked at the blonde haired boy and wondered why the Kyubi would be here. Then it hit her, Gaara was the jinchūriki and Naruto might have felt a level of companionship. Chiyo was shamed at this realization that it had to be someone from another village to understand someone from her village's pain.

"Go to hell!" Naruto said as he charged forward, all he saw was three against five and they had the advantage. That was until a fourth member came barreling towards Naruto and punched him. Luckily Naruto put his arms to guard him, but the punch was strong enough for him to fall back. As if this was a queue for fighting to start it did. What Naruto didn't expect was for the one that punched him to not only put on gauntlets with pointed fingers but he went straight for Tsubaki and grabbed her. And with a raised hand the four retreated with Tsubaki yelling swears of discontentment. "Sons of bitches!" Naruto said as he charged after them closely followed by Kakashi, Sakura, and Chiyo. When Naruto and company finally caught up to them they saw that the four were standing around a tree with Tsubaki tied up and hanging from a branch. The rope itself was wrapped tightly around her and as she struggled she noticed that the ropes only got tighter.

"You jerks let me down now!" Tsubaki yelled clearly not happy that once again she was in this situation.

"Let her go now!" Naruto roared his pupils turning into slits and from blue to orange.

"We let her go, and you come with us." The leader said without adding on anything else.

"Naruto-ni don't let them. Just beat the crap out of them and then cut me down."

"I don't think so." The leader said as he gave a very small scratch to Tsubaki with his gauntlets. All of a sudden she started to scream as if she was being tortured. "These gauntlets are laced with poison that is strong enough to render a full grown man go collapse. One scratch and your pain receptors are intensified a thousand fold and as you can see, it is very painful. Now Uzumaki Naruto, come with us and I promise that your sister will be released." Of course everyone knew that the guy was lying. The second Naruto gave himself to them, they would kill everyone and move on their merrily way.

"Naruto-ni, don't" Tsubaki said straining to regain her breathe.

"Sorry but I have to listen to my sister and I am just gonna have to beat you all an inch from your life." Naruto said as his companions got in an attack position. As the four on four melee commenced, Tsubaki continued to struggle out of her tied position. It seemed that Naruto's group was having the advantage as they pushed back their respective opponents. However Kakashi had decided to take on the leader and his annoying gauntlets which made Kakashi jump back and forth just to make sure he didn't get one scratch. Tsubaki was still having trouble with her rope when she suddenly got infuriated and screamed.

"ARGH this is worst then that time that pervert lord's son kidnapped me so I could be part of his pervert harem! That bondage freak liked to tie me up to!" Here frustrations seemed to cause the entire battle to pause and look at her.

"…."

"Wha-what?!"

"Too much information Tsubaki" Naruto said as he shook his head rubbing it with his hand as if a headache was coming up.

"IT WASN'T LIKE I LIKED IT!"

"Oh for the love of- someone just kill her!" The leader groaned as he went back to fighting Kakashi. And this seemed to be the signal to recommence the fighting. Chiyo was able to use her chakra strings to immobilize her opponent who she swiftly gave a heel to his face which not only killed him but most likely broke his nose which in retrospect mattered little at this point. She wouldn't lose any sleep over that. Sakura used her immense strength and was able to land a punch through her opponent who had his sternum and spine shatter from her punch. Naruto losing his patience started to have bits of the Kyubi's essence leak out until a punch laced with pure chakra landed on Naruto's opponent and that poor Root member exploded in a glorious display of red mist and orange chakra. The last member seeing the rest of his team go down jumped backwards to where Tsubaki was and placed blade against her neck.

"One more step and she dies." What the member didn't realize even though the group of four staring at him was smiling at him was that his knife was in fact placed against a wooden stump. "When did she-?" That was the last he could finish as Tsubaki came down from the tree and took a swipe at him. Backing up the member looked down at his shirt and noticed that whatever she attacked him with sliced through his shirt and cut relatively deep into his skin. What Tsubaki held in her hands were two black bordered, white bodied fans.

"Fans?" Sakura asked.

"Tessen, I believe." Chiyo supplemented. "Lady fans with iron in place of bamboo. Used in the royal court by samurais or geishas where weapons were not allowed. If the wielder felt like they were in danger they could draw it. It is a very difficult weapon to master."

"I learned it when Naruto-ni and I stayed in a geisha house for a month." Tsubaki said smugly showing that she used the bladed edge of the fan to cut herself free.

"And we will not talk about that Tsubaki." Naruto said quickly getting a glare from Sakura and a chuckle from Kakashi (that pervert). As the five came upon the last man standing the Root member did the only thing he could think of and drove his gauntleted hand into his chest right into the heart. The poison acted quickly and flowed through his entire body. The group watched in horror as the shinobi convulsed on the floor before finally dying. "So he would rather commit suicide than getting captured?"

"That is Root ANBU for you. They would rather die than fail their mission. We should report this to Tsunade-sama when we return" Kakashi said simply as he turned and walked away. As the group continued to travel they sped up their pace feeling that they wasted enough time with these distractions. Naruto couldn't help but notice how Chiyo kept staring at him intently as if she saw him in a new light. It would be the next day until Naruto and company finally reached their destination and to be met up with Team Gai.

"Naruto-kun!" Lee cried as he lunged forward and tried to give a hug to the blonde he quickly side stepped the over emotional Chunin. After regaining his senses Lee went back to his team and plans were made. The design of the defenses was simple enough since it required the removal of the tags. As the retrieval team stayed at the entrance, Team Gai separated at their respective places. At the signal everything went off as it should have. The tags were removed and Sakura destroyed the "door". As the group entered the cave they came across Deidara and Sasori. And between the two laid the motionless body of Gaara. Naruto had no illusions as to why Gaara wasn't moving. Succumbing to his emotions once more Naruto started to grind his teeth as they elongated and his eyes once more turned blue to orange.

"Kill you-I'M FUCKING GOING TO KILL YOU!"

_Somewhere Outside the Borders of the Land of Water_

Mei and her small entourage of bodyguards having been hiding in the woods for nearly two weeks now and things were not looking good. Medical supplies were running out. Food was easy enough to forage for but not ideal to eat. Weapons were in need of maintenance or resupply like everything else. And moral was at an all-time low. It was no secret that Mei was feeling the lack of sleep and stress from this ever since Akatsuki came and literally threw her out of her office she have been trying to get to know all if any information to get her village back. Chōjūrō and Ao stayed by her side the entire time ever vigilant and forever insistent on making sure the Mizukage got much needed rest.

"Mizukage-sama." A lone scout ran into the camp and kneeled down to the leader.

"Report." Mei said as she shifted her eyes towards the scout and listened intently. What she heard did not make her happy at all. The Akatsuki have taken over her tower and has one after another taken in her shinobi and have systematically put them in a genjutsu. The scout didn't know what it did but all he could see was that the genjutsu made the person act and believe they were actually talking to their Mizukage. Any person strong enough to fight the genjutsu or was able to break free shortly disappeared afterwards. Meaning one of two things; either they were taken to the dungeons, or they were killed off without hesitation. For some reason, it would seem that production of weapons increased meaning that whatever goals that Akatsuki has, they are preparing for war. The civilians seemed to be safe for now as they have been living in ignorance to the change of power.

"Good work, go get some food and rest." Mei said still thinking a mile a minute on what she needed to do. She started to bite her thumb nail trying to figure out what she could do for her people. She had to do something or they would be in deeper trouble than she already was.

"Mizukage-sama, perhaps it is not my place to speak." Ao said stepping besides his leader clearly worried about what he heard as well. Receiving a nod to continue Ao prepared himself for what he would have to say. "I know it is not the best idea to show such weakness, but we need to reach out to one of our allies. If our reports are correct Akatsuki has a hold on our village and Amegakure as well, secrecy is no longer an option. I suggest that we reach out to Konohagakure or Sunagakure. Both the Hokage and the Kazekage are both sympathetic and they are approachable as trustful allies since they are no friends to Akatsuki.

"I think you are right. I think it would be smart to send an envoy to Konoha, but discreetly." Ao nodded as he went to do as he was ordered to.

_Somewhere Near the Border of Takigakure_

A girl wearing a short sleeveless white midriff shirt with fishnet armor underneath and fishnet shorts with a short white apron skirt over it ran out of breathe. She had been on the run for over two days without stopping for food or sleep. She was being chased by two men in black cloaks and they just didn't seem to want to give up nor did anything she threw at them seem to slow them down. Her mint green hair was matted down to her forehead form the sweat she accumulated. She was running out of kunai and shurikens and she needed to get away from who was chasing her if she wanted to live for another day. She was heading west without stopping or thinking. She knew it was where it was safe if only it was where she knew someone she could trust would be. As she passed another tree, said tree exploded in a pillar of fire. It didn't hit her, but she could definitely feel the heat on the back of her neck.

"Naruto…..help."

**Jutsu**

**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**

**Suiton: Mizudeppō (Water Release: Water Gun) **

**Hateshinai raikou gusoku (Everlasting Lightening Armor)**

**A/N: Since it it the beginning of the school year, I willtry to make as many updates as possible but I need to not fail school :P until next time folks **


	16. Chapter 16

**Just some housekeeping first off. I am glad a lot of people like my story and I appreciate it, it's what makes me keep writing. That being said there are a lot of people who are complaining that Naruto is overpowered and that Tsubaki is a Mary Sue character that is too powerful for an 11 year old. **

**First of all, Naruto was always powerful, look at the canon. What he lacked was proper training, thus I had him do a two year travel with the Kyubi introducing him to a new powers and help from Jiraiya. **

**As for Tsubaki, I never admitted nor denied that she was a Mary Sue character. She was originally created as a comic relief that would help build Naruto's character to his present state. As for her skills, I believe that the best experience is hands-on. Meaning that Tsubaki traveling with Naruto on those jobs helped her gain emotional and physical experiences that make her above average compared to children her age or genin even. Also I have explained in previous chapters that she was partially trained by Jiraiya himself. Considering he taught the 4****th**** Hokage, Yamato and Konan, and Naruto you have to consider that even though he is a perv he knows what he's doing. For those who dislike Tsubaki too bad she is staying alive. On the bright side I will have her Segway away from the main plot and taking a back seat as she won't be appearing on missions with Naruto as much anymore (just read this chapter, you'll understand).**

**Last bit and you can go ahead and read on. **

**Yes I added Fu in my story because I agree I like her. If anything else she is just another character builder for Naruto during his travels and I was a little sad that they didn't really give her the background she deserved in canon. But she can here.**

**And I do not enjoy making Naruto's enemies die a horrible death as a certain someone has said in reviews :P (you know who you are) It's just Root that I have an issue with if you hadn't noticed the more gruesome deaths are with Root. If you think about it a lot of the antagonists in the canon can be directly linked to Root or Danzo…..so he needs to suffer…And some of the Akatsuki members although they went on the deep end joined up for goals that are completely reasonable. **

**Anyways, back to work…sorry for the wait, Life makes things harder to write.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto *beats away potential lawsuit* Go away, I don't want your cookies. **

_The Demon Within_

"I'm going to kill all of you!" Naruto roared as he ran towards the two black cloaked men without thinking. That would have been a fatal error if it weren't for Kakashi and Sakura grabbing him on each side and dragging him back kicking and screaming. "Let me go!" Naruto roared as his pupils began to change shape and color.

"Naruto, calm down." Kakashi urged as he was struggling to hold back the teenager. With one last push Naruto got past Sakura and Kakashi and charged straight at the two Akatsuki members in a blind rage. When Naruto got to about 10 feet away from his target he saw in his peripheral a small white butterfly made of clay. Before Naruto could fully comprehend what the butterfly was, it exploded in his face.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she tried to run to her friend only to be stopped by Kakashi. Out of the smoke and debris Naruto flew backwards on his back clearly hurting, but he was healing fast which seemed to calm Sakura a little.

"The boy isn't dead? What the hell mmm."

"Deidra, didn't you pay attention? The boy is the Kyubi, you will need more than just a clay pellet to put him down."

"Don't talk down about my art Master Sasori mmm. My art is true aesthetic, unlike your puppets mmm."

"Deidra…..after we are done with them, I am going to kill you."

"Heh come now Master Sasori I was just only kidding."

"Are these guys for real?" Tsubaki asked Sakura who was helping Naruto to stand up straight while Chiyo stood in the background looking contemplative at the Akatsuki. Or accurately as her grandson.

"No idea." Sakura said as Kakashi came up to stand beside his students.

"Sakura, Tsubaki, Elder Chiyo if you can take on the large fellow, Naruto and I will take on the blonde and try to get Gaara-kun back." Kakashi strategized which he saw the nods of agreement. As the 5-man team went into attack the Akatsuki members separated and did their best to fight off the oncoming attacks. Sasori seemed to be at ease as he just lumbered on swinging his metal tail and launching various projectiles at the females who did more jumping around than actual attacking. As for the other side, Kakashi and Naruto were able to force Deidra out of the cave and out into the open. The reason being the two thought it wouldn't be a really good situation to have a mad bomber throwing off explosions in a collapsible structure. This also meant however that Deidra had plenty of room to fly high above and just throw bombs at his leisure which seemed to get on Naruto's nerves the more he did it.

"Son of a bitch!" Naruto roared as he launched a chakra arm at Deidra who once again just flew high and dropped another bomb. This bomb this time landed on Naruto and exploded causing him to crash down on the hard ground creating a crater.

"Naruto, you have to calm down!" Kakashi said as he landed next to him still looking up. What worried Kakashi was that the injury Naruto had taken was quickly healing. Regardless of how the Jyubi worked with Naruto, Kakashi knew that there was always a downside to something that convienent.

"I know!" Naruto said as he actually did what he was told and calmed down and breathed.

"Naruto, I have a plan, but I need your help."

"I'm all ears Kakashi sensei."

_Konoha _

"So Jiraiya, why did you need to talk to me for?" Tsunade asked as Shizune put a cup of tea in front of the sage.

Taking a sip from the cup and sighed in appreciation Jiraiya looked at his former teammate over the cup. "It's about Naruto. I am worried about him and his interactions with the Kyubi."

"Is it that bad? I would think the two years you were with him you would have done something if it was really that much of a concern. And from the looks of it Naruto is quite strong as it is with the Kyubi." Tsunade said as she sipped her own tea.

"It is not the power that worries me. You have read the reports about the orange chakra that surrounds Naruto at times? That chakra is the Kyubi's and he has used it on multiple occasions. We can call it a cloak as it covers Naruto, so in other words it is a Kyubi chakra cloak. It may be powerful and give Naruto a larger area of attacks to use with added power. But what I have found is that this chakra burns its host." With that said Tsunade almost choked on her tea and Shizune gasped in surprise.

"What exactly do you mean Jiraiya, I didn't see any physical damage to Naruto when he used it in the past"

"That's the issue. The Kyubi's chakra cloak is a double edged sword. It may burn his body and cause a large amount of damage, but because of the cloak Naruto's body heals at an accelerated rate. This means that unless you are looking particularly for this or if you do an acute examination of Naruto you would never notice it. I only realized this when I thought how the cloak is pure energy and no one should be able to handle such a state, even Naruto. From what I can understand, the fourth created the seal so that Naruto could have access to some of it, not all of it in one go."

"Alright, then I suppose we should tell Naruto to stop using that form then." Tsunade said as she looked out the window.

She was about to take another sip when Jiraiya spoke again. "There's more. Naruto most likely told you already, but he has loosened the seal allowing the Kyubi more freedom. True this has given Naruto a new power and this opens various advantages for Naruto, but the issue is that Naruto and the Kyubi are two separate beings. A year ago, when Naruto, Tsubaki, and I were training the Kyubi took possession of Naruto. The problem was that not only did Naruto completely did not know how he ended up where he was, his traits started to become more feral…..More like the Kyubi. I don't want to say it out loud but the happy go lucky kid that was Uzumaki Naruto over time with the Kyubi taking him over has started to act far more aggressive than I would like. My fear, though I haven't proven it yet, but I am afraid that Naruto is losing his humanity." Jiraiya finished still looking troubled.

"So what are we supposed to do-" Tsunade started but was interrupted when one of her guards bursted through the doors.

"Hokage-sama, we have arrested a shinobi that claims that he is an envoy for the Mizukage." The shinobi said a little out of breathe.

"What are you waiting for? Bring him to me then." Tsunade said all authority. The shinobi nodded and turned, but was tackled by yet another shinobi who barged in and wasn't quick enough to stop.

"For the love of… what now?!" Tsunade asked as Jiraiya chuckled thinking _I sure dodged the kunai not being named Hokage_.

"Our border patrol found a girl in the forest. She was dehydrated and barely conscious. All she kept saying before she finally passed out was that she was looking for Uzumaki Naruto." At that, everyone looked at the shinobi.

"Just what is going on?" Tsunade asked out loud.

_Back with Naruto and company_

As Deidra flew high above wondering what was taking them, he thought about just dropping another barrage of bombs at the two below him, but realized that he was running low. _Heh, good thing Master Sasori isn't here or he would chew me out for not being properly prepared hmmmm. _And as that thought was finished Deidra was surrounded by 6 Naruto clones all cloak in orange chakra. Deidra tried going left but was stopped by a kunai wielding Naruto. He tried going right, but barely dodged a Rasengan. He tried going up, but realized that a Naruto basked in what looked like lightening was above him. Thinking as quickly as he could and realizing he was properly boxed in he did the only logical thing and dropped down. The problem was that it was all planned, as bits and pieces of his clay bird started to break apart. Looking around at the source of this, Deidra's eyes landed on Hatake Kakashi, whose Sharingan eye was different before and for some reason, Deidra had a feeling that was the source of his misfortune.

Appearing out of nowhere bathed in orange chakra was in front of him and pushed off of a Naruto clone that was directly behind him giving him the needed velocity to go forward. "You're mine!" Naruto roared as he clotheslined Deidra and forced him to the ground from a 50 foot drop.

_Damn that brat and the Kyubi. I shouldn't be surprised at the power, but that seriously hurt. I need to be more careful with him or I will really die hmmmm. _Deidra thought as he tried to stand but was forced back down when a cloaked Naruto charged him and gave an explosive punch to the gut to the explosive expert.

"**Don't fucking think that you are going anywhere you bastard." **Naruto said with a hint of a demonic undertone. Kakashi started to wonder who was in control at the moment but was too busy watching Deidra. As Deidra reached into his pouch for clay he realized just then he was officially out of clay and had to think of something quick to get away from the enraged Kyubi.

"**Where do you think you are running to?!" **Naruto roared as he speared a retreating Deidra in the back and taking the two back down to the ground. Gone was all technique and strategy. Now it was nothing more than just pure senseless violence. Kakashi knew at that very moment Naruto was going to wind up killing the rogue shinobi if he didn't do something. Luckily before he could move the females of the group caught up to them. He only hoped that meant their opponent was no longer a threat. Looking over the three, he could tell that Chiyo was out of breathe and looked as if she was holding her side. Sakura had a couple of cratches but nothing life threatening. Tsubaki on the other hand was holding one arm at her side in a makeshift sling. He couldn't tell from here but he was sure that she probably broke it, from the way she kept the arm where it was.

"Good timing you three. Naruto is going berserk and I'm almost out of chakra from using my Sharingan to much." The silver haired shinobi said as he landed next to the three females as he slightly stumbled out of breathe. Feeling new presences behind him, he turned in time to see Team Gai appear, all looking worse for wear but nothing to damaging. "Gai, good timing."

"Heh, of course Kakashi, you think I would let you have all the fun?" Gai said with a thumb up to his 'eternal rival'. As the group neared Naruto and Deidra they felt a heavy pressure as they slowly got closer. The pressure was stifling and became harder to breathe. They quickly realized the reason for the pressure was Naruto and his slowly out of control chakra.

"When did Naruto-ni put on the Kyubi cloak?" Tsubaki asked nervously. She experienced Naruto when he was out of control once, and even since then, she always felt this level of absolute fear to this day.

"Not long, but if we don't stop him soon he may go rampant." Kakashi said as he tried to go forward. However he to stumbled when Naruto literally caused a shockwave with a single roar. That was then Tsubaki ran forward dodging flying debris and then jumping up to the highest point there was to get Naruto's attention.

"Naruto-ni, you have to stop!"

"**Stay out of this Tsubaki!**" Naruto roared as he went for a lunge once again at Deidra who was slowing down. He landed on a tree branch but stumbled long enough for a very fast Naruto to swipe at him with a chakra arm. Deidra didn't get out of the way before his right arm was torn off by the force of the attack. The group watched in horror as the Akatsuki member cried in pain.

"Naruto." Sakura whispered as her long time friend roared and went in for another blow. But before Naruto could even hit Deidra Tsubaki once again ran in front of Naruto. Naruto stopped before he could tackle Tsubaki and was annoyed that she would interfere. This distraction was enough for Deidra to find his clay bird that he fell from and take a large bite out of it. Before anyone could think of what exactly he could do Neji turned on his Byakgugan and gasped.

"He is concentrating his chakra at one point. He is going to explode!" Neji said as he started to step back ever slightly

"Everyone retreat!" Gai yelled as everyone turned to leave. Naruto grabbed Tsubaki and held her to his body as protection as the two ran away. As the explosion was set off, everyone had a look of shock as not only anyone relatively harmed, the explosion itself all but disappeared.

Wha-what happened?" Tenten asked as he stepped besides Neji who was shaking his head in confusion.

"I sent it to another dimesion." Kakashi said simply as he panted from exhaustion.

"You're amazing Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said with a smile finally calming down and the orange chakra receding.

"I see you in a new light Kakashi-san" Tsubaki said nodding. "I don't think you're just a pervert." She said jokingly causing Naruto to snicker and Sakura to cover her mouth trying not to laugh and Kakashi to sweat drop.

"Hah, nothing less from my eternal rival!" Gai said as he gave a good hard slap to the back of Kakashi who stumbled face first into the dirt.

"Ga-Gai, too soon." Kakashi said as he struggled to put himself back into a sitting position as Gai tried to apologize prefusly.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked quietly as two clones of himself carried a still Gaara. After examining Gaara, Sakura shook her head sadly. Tsubaki stood in the back as everything seemed ot go fast forward. First she watched as Chiyo and Naruto helped Gaara to come back to life in some miracle way, but even she could see that when Chiyo stopped moving, she was not going to get back up. Next thing she knew over four dozen Sand shinobi came out of everywhere being led by Konkuro and Temari. There were tears of joy and sadness intermingled with each other. Joy from seeing their Kazekage alive and well. Sadness at seeing the dead body of their elder. Those who understood what she did for the sake of Gaara stood in silent vigil. They knew that Chiyo became a bitter woman and had no longer held any interest in teh future of the village she once called home. To change so drastically to the point of saving Gaara was nothing less than a miracle. Even now Naruto could not stop but think about her parting words to him.

"May you and Gaara bring forth a new age of peace. A peace that we old shinobi have severed. I think, I can trust you with this, can't I Naruto? Hehe, it looks like I cannot play dead this time." Walking with Gaara's arm slung over his shoulder, Naruto walked onwards looking forward. He could not get the image of Chiyo, and he knew that once again a life had ot end for the sake of a future. He did not like it, but he would sure as hell make sure that the future would come true. It wouldn't be some time until Naruto finally took notice of Tsubaki and her sling.

"Tsubaki, you're hurt." Naruto said with concern.

"Stating the obvious very late Naruto-ni." Tsubaki said with a smile as the group laughed lightheartedly.

"That's not what I mean. How did you hurt your arm?"

"Fighting that puppet user Akatsuki of course." Tsubaki huffed not liking where Naruto's train of thought was going.

"How?" Naruto asked more insistently as Tsubaki turned away ashamed but not answering. "You used THAT technique, didn't you?" Naruto asked a little louder. Tsubaki absent response was all the answer that Naruto needed, as everyone else looked between the two in confusion. "You know you were forbidden to use it. Ero-senin even said so." Naruto said much angrier than anyone would expect from him at this time.

"I had no choice." Tsubaki said angrily. "We had to beat that guy and help you and Kakashi-san!"

"You are not trained enough to use that technique and you sure as hell don't have the chakra to even form the base for that technique." Naruto growled then looked around as everyone looked at them with concern. Naruto then sighed and continued to walk onwards without another word.

It would be some time before Tsubaki spoke once more. "Naruto-ni….I'm sorry." Tsubaki said quietly not even looking up out of shame.

"We'll talk about it later Tsubaki." Naruto said in a curt hard tone that said he was still angry and was best to leave him alone until he cooled down.

Sakura kept a respectful distance away from the siblings but like everyone else, could not help but listen in. Sakura was there when Tsubaki got hurt and she understood that the technique Tsubaki was trying to do went out of control. This however did not explain why Naruto would get so angry at her for using it. How dangerous could it be?

_Flashback_

_They had been fighting for almost ten miuntes already. Sakura could tell that Lady Chiyo was using her puppets, but even if she was a famous puppet master, old age was slowly takings its toll on her. Tsubaki tried to help with ranged weapons and water techniques, but they were either ineffective or Sasori would just use a puppet to protect him. Sakura knew with her enhanced strength she could take out Sasori. The problem was that one, she couldn't get close to him with his army of puppets. And two, even if she could get close enough, Sasori had enough weapons around him that could hurt her, and she already knew that most likely everything he had was covered in posion. Things were looking bad. Sakura then glanced to the elft as Lady-Chiyo brought out a small task force of puppets and Sasori borught out his army of puppets. Even Sakura a battle these two puppet masters would help her buy some time to get close enough. And luckily she had no doubt that Lady-Chiyo will manage, after all, it is quality not quantity that matter. That only left Sakura to concern over Tsubaki. She only had two vials left and even if Tsubaki had skills above her age group, this was highly dangerous. It also didn't help that Sakura had a nagging feeling that Naruto would go on a war path if he learned Tsubaki was severly injured. _

"_Sakura….Tsubaki I will support you with my puppets. Go get Sasori!" Chiyo yelled as her puppets began to move. Tsubaki and Sakura started moving forward only giving each other a side glance without moving their heads. Then with one final nod the two young girls charged followed by their entourage of armed puppets. Tsubaki used her war fans and quick acrobatics to make it through the army of puppets with what Sakura could only describe as shock was how Tsubaki seemed to flow like water. She had to admit it, Tsubaki was very skilled to the point Sakura was a little envious how flexible the younger girl was at her age. Sakura on the other hand just rammed forward punching anything that got in her way. Both were complete opposites, but still effective. _

"_Sakura-ne take him!" Tsubaki yelled as Sakura took a giant leap and landed right in front of Sasori who had no facial expression as to this intrusion to his personal space. Then with one big punch, Sakura landed a huge hit on the puppet master as Tsubaki jumped right behind Sakura and threw a ball at Sasori. Whatever the ball was turned into a giant beast head which pinned Sasori o the wall. "Chiyo-bachan gave me that." Tsubaki explained simply. Sakura gave the younger girl a smile before she felt a sharp pain in her back. Confusion soon turned to horror as Sakura looked at Tsubaki whose face had a look of a silent scream. Turning around, Sakura saw that Sasori was somehow able to take possession of another puppet as his body. And since her guard was down she didn't even think such a thing was possible. _

"_You let you guard down…..silly girl." Sasori said with disdain and watched as Sakura fell to her knees. This act seemd to set off something in Tsubaki as she screamed in anger and leapt to a retreating Sasori. Gone was the technique and quick action flexibility and it was replaced with blind rage. That's when Sakura was able to see Tsubaki was quickly forming seals and blowing water out of her mouth forming a giant ball in front of her as she kept trying to keep the orb from collapsing or moving which seemed like it strained the young girl. Soon the orb was bigger than Tsubaki. Tsubaki then placed her hands on the water orb with rage in her eyes._

"_Suiton: _Kyūryū no _Mizuchi" Whatever was supposed to happen did not. Instead, Sakura watched as the younger girl's arm bended at an impossible angle._

"_Tsubaki-chan!"_

_Present_

It was a day of celebration and rest for those of the Sand village. It was the day of the triumphant return of the Kazekage, as well as the defeat of two of the Akatsuki who were a threat to all. However the victory was bitter sweat as a memorial had to be done for Chiyo who gave up her life to ensure that the future would be ensured to a new generation. Hopefully one that was full of peace and friendship rather than war and heart break.

"Are you sure you can not stay for a day longer?" Kankurō asked the leaving Konoha shinobi with his siblings standing next to him.

"Yes, we have some urgent business we have to attend to back in our village and the sooner we get there, the better." Kakashi said while thinking about many revelations that this mission has unfolded. The possibility that Danzo had tried to take Naruto once again, not to mention Sakura informing him about a lead on Sasuke. The Hokage would want to know about this immediately.

"Naruto, tell Shikamaru that I will see him soon and that he better be prepared." Temari said which only got the curiosity of the group regarding her very cryptic message. Saying their farewells and a heartfelt handshake between Naruto and Gaara, the Konoha shinobi departed. Several days later the group finally returned to Konoha tired yet relieved to be home. The group went straight to the Hokage Tower disregarding that both Kakashi and Tsubaki should have gone to the hospital.

"The mission was a success, well done." Tsunade said as she overlooked the mission report while the two teams stood at attention. "I have nothing else to say regarding this mission. Kakashi, I received your messenger bird 2 days earlier and I have sent anbu to deal with the situation. We will investigate this lead regarding Sasuke, in the meantime I encourage you all to go and get some rest. Neji, Naruto, and Tsubaki please stay behind, I wish to speak to you." As the group left the room leaving the three named individuals, Tsunade took a quick gulp from her sake cup and looked over another sheet of paper. "Hyuga Neji you application for becoming a Jonin Sensei has been accepted." This declaration surprised Naruto and Tsubaki who turned to their companion.

"Neji, when did you decide to become a sensei?" Naruto asked his friend who gave him a smirk.

"It has been something I have been thinking about for some time, I only recently decided to apply for a position as a sensei. "

"It also helps that Hinabi is supposed ot graduate this year and her father has been giving not so subtle hints that he wants a Hyuga as her sensei." Tsunade said with a sigh as if she had to deal with the head of the Hyuga clan and his constant pestering of using his clan position to influence who's team is daughter was part of.

"Yes Hiashi-sama has mentioned his desire for me to taking up as Hinabi-sama's sensei. As a branch member I will do what is asked of me from the main house."

"Well congradulations, Neji." Naruto said with a grin while Tsubaki stood off to the side smiling and nodding.

"On a side note, Tsubaki, what is your intentions in Konoha?" Tsunade asked the young girl who only stiffened at being acknowledged by the Hokage.

"I want to be a Kunoichi for Konoha." Tsubaki said simply.

"Well, technically it is a lot of paperwork and you are not officially a member of Konoha yet. There is also the problem with you being way more advanced than the ones in your age group." That was when the Hokage began to formulate a plan while everyone looked at her nervously. "Alright, I have a plan. Uzumaki Tsubaki, you are to attend this years graduating class. It is only 3 months until they take their exams and graduate." Responsive in nature to any child hearing the word school, Tsubaki balked at the idea while Naruto rose an eyebrow in fascination at what the Hokage was planning.

"Why the hell do I have to go to school? I bet I can wipe the floor with everyone in that class." Tsubaki said not noticing the tick mark on Neji's forehead.

"First of all, everyone attends the academy so that they can learn the basics of what it is to be a shinobi as well as learn the history of the village. Take this opportunity to brush up on your skills as well as get to know the village better. If anything else, since you will be put on a genin team, you will get to meet your future teammates." The Hokage said in a sickly sweet tone of voice losing her patience.

"But why do I have to practice my basics and take exams?! I would rather learn a new technique or something." Tsubaki insisted once again. Naruto decided to step in and place a gentle hand on his sister's shoulder and giving a small sigh.

"Tsubaki, think of basic training like the roots of a tree. The roots grow bigger and stronger given time and patience. The roots are the foundation of the tree. If the roots are strong then the tree can grow big and strong while lasting for a long time. If the foundation is weak, then there will be problems later on." Naruto's pearls of wisdom seem to make Tsubaki think, while everyone else started to look oddly at Naruto. "Besides, your arm is in no condition for you to train a new technique." Naruto finished hastily.

_When did Naruto get so smart? _Neji thought while Tsunade smirked at the blonde.

"My thoughts exactly." Tsunade said as she turned her attention back to the younger girl. "How about we make a deal? You attend classes for 3 months, but I will allow you to continue your training with Naruto when he is not on missions. If you graduate, I will make sure that you are placed on Neji's team." Everyone looked around nervously.

"Fine." Tsubaki said with a sigh.

"Neji, you take care of my sister, or I'll put you through a wall." Naruto said with a smile but lacking the light that usually was in his eyes. And form that look, Neji knew that Naruto was not joking at all and that only made him nervous. It was one thing to have the head of teh Hyuga clan pushing him, it was an entirely different thing with Naruto.

"Neji you may go. Naruto and Tsubaki, I want you two to follow me to the hospital there is something that I would like to show you. Shizune, stay here please." Tsunade said as she stood up and stated to walk towards the door.

5 minutes later, the trio made it to the second floor of the hospital. As Tsunade walked on, she noticed that an anbu came in stride with her.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked without looking at the cat masked anbu.

"We infiltrated the Root compound, but Danzo and all his Root members were not there. We are not sure how, but we believe that he knew that we were coming and left in a hurry." The anbu said.

"Search the compund one more time and then send out search parties outside the village, a group taht size could not have gotten far without being noticed." With a nod, the anbu disappeared. They continued to walk until they stopped in front of a room which had 2 guards in front of the door and another guard inside the room itself. On the bed laid a green haired girl which both teens knew right away.

"Fu!" Naruto said as he rushed to her bedside. "What happened to her?" Naruto asked as he turned to look at Tsunade.

"We don't know. We found her outside the village exhausted on the verge of losing consciousness. The only thing she said is that she wanted to see you." Tsunade said from the doorframe noticing Sakura was within hearing range. Once again, Naruto's teammate's curiousity was getting the best of her. "Do you mind telling us who she is, and how she knows you?"

"Yeah, I know her. I guess the best word you can call us...we are mates." This confession was followed by a brief pause until.

"What?!"

**Jutsu:**

_Suiton: _Kyūryū no _Mizuchi_: Water Release: Mizuchi's torrent

_A/N: Sorry for the super long wait but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. For those folks who thought this was a NaruSaku thing don't worry it will happen. I am just giving you a lesson in old school slang :P Happy New Years _

_Until next time_

_Krazykandyman_


	17. Chapter 17

**And I'm back...sorry...don't hate me**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any such way.**

**Friends of the Past**

_Konoha Hospital_

"What?!" Tsunade nearly screamed at Naruto as he placed a hand on the unconscious Fu's shoulder and Tsubaki covered her ears.

"I'm her mate, she's my mate." Naruto said it as if it was obvious. This did nothing but frustrate Tsunade even more as if claiming a random girl from another village was your mate was normal. BUT it wasn't. Tsubaki standing off to the side giggled as she face palmed herself.

"What Naruto-ni means is that they are close. From where Fu-ni is from, calling someone your mate is slang for someone who is as close as blood." Tsubaki said with a flourish of a finger as if she was giving a lecture to a classroom. This explanation seemed to calm Tsunade and Sakura as she continued to hide behind the wall.

"Yeah, that's what I meant." Naruto said a little confused, causing Tsunade and Tsubaki to face palm completely caught off guard at how simple Naruto's thought process was.

_4 Months Earlier Near the Outskirts of Takigakure_

Naruto and Tsubaki traveled around almost every country that could be traveled by land. They saw many colorful characters and gained a certain rapport among various villages as strong yet young shinobi. It was at the suggestion of Jiraiya that they travel to the various villages for the benefit for both of them, but mostly for Tsubaki to find a water style specialist to help her get stronger. The Mist was out of the question since they killed any shinobi not from their village on sight without the right paperwork. The Rain village was in their own turmoil with a civil war and so they wouldn't be of any help. All that left for any villages with a surplus of water style specialists was the Waterfall village. It was along the road that Naruto and Tsubaki walked by a small waterfall flowing into a lake that Naruto saw a girl with green hair. She sat there looking at the ripples in the water and even though she wasn't someone that really stood out in a crowd, Naruto could not shake the feeling that she had something to her. It wasn't that Naruto found her breathtaking or anything or the fact that she was doing something to draw attention to her. It was her eyes that caught Naruto's notice. They were eyes that he had seen many times in the mirror while growing up. Eyes that was lonely, sad, and angry.

"The hell do you want?" The girl asked. This caught Naruto off a bit since she wasn't even looking at him.

"Nothing really, just saw a person sitting by themselves. Seems lonely." Naruto said as he took several steps to the girl. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and the girl next to me is my sister Tsubaki." Tsubaki gave a half-hearted wave.

"If you are expecting me to give you my name, you can forget it. If I were you, I would just turn around and go back from wherever the hell you came from." The girl said as she stood up and stared at Naruto with eyes that Naruto has seen before. To Naruto, those eyes full of hate reminded him at that very instant of a younger Gaara. Caught off guard by her demeanor Naruto cleared his throat as he tried for another smile.

"Nah, we are just here to get to Takigakure. You don't happen to know how to get to there from here?"

"I do, but I don't have to be obligated to want to help you." Now Naruto was getting annoyed.

"Listen, we just want to get to the village and do our business. After that we will leave and you will never have to see us ever again." Naruto said while the girl started to snicker.

"Listen buddy, I could care less what your business is and I don't give a damn, but you keep pushing me the wrong way and I will end you. You are a stranger and you don't know this, but I'm a monster and I'll have no issue putting you down like a dog." The girl said as she walked over and came face to face with Naruto.

"I'm more of a fox, but that's fine. To be honest, I don't see a monster, I just see a teenaged girl who looks angry at the world and is willing to show everyone that she hates them. You are who you are, so if you think you are a monster, then you are. But until you prove everyone that they are wrong and you are a person with feelings…well I will be there to help." Naruto said with a smile, not even registering the space between the two.

"I wish you were like the rest. It would make it easier to not like you." The girl said with a smile. "Name's Fu."

"Nice to meet you."

"Well, come along, I guess we can go to the village." As Fu walked away leading the way, Naruto and Tsubaki kept a good distance behind her as they tried to understand what her motive was.

"Naruto-ni, why do you think she said she was a monster?"

"Not sure, but I have a theory. You just stay quiet about it around here okay?" Tsubaki nodded in understanding as the siblings ran to catch up to Fu who had the tact not to eavesdrop on their conversation but still kept a watchful eye on the two.

The trio walked on for another 10 minutes not talking until they came across the gates to the village. Naruto and Tsubaki gave their identification while Fu just kept walking onwards. Naruto noticed how the gate guards held contempt towards Fu. Naruto filed that information away in his thoughts until he could figure out what exactly was going on. Because Naruto and Tsubaki were outsiders, the gate guards had to call Anbu to make sure there was no security risk. 2 hours of questioning led to Naruto losing his patience, and Tsubaki to eventually get annoyed and began to bang her head against the table.

"Finally!" Tsubaki cried out as they left the interrogation room. After explaining what they were there for and after some concessions, a messenger came and told them they were given permission to train with a trust member of the village. Of course, Tsubaki would only learn the basic water techniques, but the village secret techniques were not up to being offered which they agreed. As Tsubaki trained within the village, Naruto went outside of the village to train, usually in the company of Fu and an Anbu how tried hiding but failed since Naruto could always sense him hiding in the foliage.

Fu found Naruto as an oddity. He did not know a thing about her, yet he was so open about himself. Ever since she had the sichi-bi sealed in her, her life had been nothing short of miserable, and because of that she hated everyone in her village. Yet Naruto even though he didn't know her was so accepting and warm. Even if she rebuked him or tells him to drop dead, he would still be there with that goofy grin and just infuriated. And yet, she couldn't help but not hate him. In a way, he was endearing and she couldn't help but feel camaraderie with him even if she couldn't tell why.

**Figured out yet kid? **The Kyubi asked Naruto as he was trying to get into the sage state.

_What are you talking about? _Naruto asked the fox.

**Idiot, she has the same eyes as someone angry at the world and she said it herself, the village calls her a monster. Doesn't that remind you of Gaara? I could tell before we even talked to her. She has a scent of a bug.**

_What?_

"**Use that sage mode and look at her properly."**

Naruto did as he was told and entered sage mode. Everything came to life for him he could sense the mother bird as she was feeding her newborn hatchlings. He could feel every leaf and blade of grass; he could even sense the Anbu who tried to watch Naruto but failed at the concept of hiding. Naruto then turned towards Fu and he couldn't help but feel as if he was in a torrent of waves as different energies were clashing for supremacy. Underneath it all, Naruto saw it. It so was like the Kyubi yet it was a total different existence.

_She's like me._

**Correct, sealed in her is the sichi-bi. **

_Well, I think it's time that I let her know she isn't alone._

**That's fine, but I know this is going to be hard for you but be careful what you say to her, or you will end up scaring her away. Kami knows you say more than necessary.**

"Fu, let's sit and talk a bit." The girl sat down with Naruto by the lake as there was a comfortable silence between the two. "I don't know if it is my place to say this out loud like this but, I know what is sealed inside you." Fu gasped and the Anbu flinched thinking it would be prudent to run and inform about Naruto's claim. The Kyubi for his part gave a sigh.

**Somewhere….A village is missing an idiot.**

Naruto ignored the fox's comment and continued on. "I figured it out when I sensed something weird with your chakra. There were two kinds of chakra and one of them was darker than the other." Fu seemed to be lost for a response and just sat there baffled staring at this blonde.

"So now that you know, what are you going to do? Go back to your village and tell everyone you know you met a monster. I knew I shouldn't have opened up to you, now you are going to treat me like everyone else." At this point Fu could not look at Naruto, so she looked away with anger on her face trying to contain her tears. "I bet you knew about me all along and you were just playing around with me huh? I bet this was a cruel joke you wanted to play and you just wanted a good laugh at my expense." Naruto was shocked at her exclamation.

"Well…..I wasn't planning on doing anything around that idea. So I don't know what everyone does to you here but I won't do that." Naruto said with a smile to her. "But before we do anything else….Tsubaki!" Fu at first was confused that turned into shock when an Anbu from her village fell out of his hiding spot with Tsubaki on top of him. "Don't worry, he's alive, pride hurt but alive. Tsubaki is a sensor type and can sneak up on almost anyone. I just don't like being eavesdropped on."

"You two are crazy." Fu stated when she started laughing. "That's it…I like you two! You're my mates now!"

"Eh."

_Present_

"And that's how it went." Naruto said as he relaxed in a chair.

"That explains nothing." Tsunade said getting angry. It was at that point that Fu started to stir and opened her eyes to see the collected group around her.

"NARUTO!" Fu shouted as she launched herself off her bed and hugged Naruto for he was worth. "You idiot….making me run all the way here to get help! Do you know how much trouble I went through to get here?"

"Fu, calm down." Naruto said as he settled the girl back into her bed. "Do you mind explaining what happened?"

"Akatsuki happened." Fu growled as she cracked her neck. "Bastards chased me all the way from my village to here." Fu then looked at Naruto more intently than before. "You still have a scent of battle."

"Scent of battle?" Tsunade asked confused. To her, Naruto smelled like Naruto.

"It's a bushido saying ba-chan." Naruto said. "She means that I am still carrying the burden of the men I killed." Naruto's voice sounded distant and empty at this point. This awkward tension was something not desired, and yet no one knew how to move away from this subject.

"If it's alright for you….we want to hear the whole story after you recover a little more. In the meantime, Naruto I want you to come with me." Tsunade said in a not so subtle way to change the subject.

"I will see you later Fu." Naruto said as he exited with Tsubaki right behind him. With a sigh, Fu sat back into her bed and started to relax.

"You can come out now." Fu said to no one in general. After another moment of hesitation, Sakura came through the door and was at a loss for words as to how she should progress.

"I'm guessing you are Sakura right? Yeah, Naruto talked all about you, kind of got annoying but I knew the idiot likes you."

"Naruto is an idiot, but he is dependable." Sakura responded with a smile ignoring the fact that Fu told Sakura that Naruto liked her. "It is nice to meet you Fu-san."

"Sakura-san, I will be blunt….stay away from Naruto."

_Hokage Office_

"Naruto, I want you to meet Yamato." Tsunade introduced a brown haired Jonin as Kakashi stood to the side. "If the information that Sakura found is legitimate, I am sending Team Kakashi and Yamato will act as your fourth."

"Well I am not good with introductions, but it is nice to meet you." Naruto said with his smile. "Wait, I never seen you before, have I?"

"He has been on a mission out of the village for a while." Kakashi quickly supplemented.

"Alright then." Naruto said satisfied. Everyone in the room did an inward sigh.

"Wait what about me?" Tsubaki asked confused.

"You will be going to school remember." Tsunade said pointedly as Naruto snickered.

"Right." Tsubaki said with a sigh.

_Konoha Hospital_

"Wha-what do you mean stay away from Naruto?" Sakura asked confused, but backed away when she saw the angry stare Fu was giving her.

"Like I said, Naruto told me all about you. All the way back to when you were 13 and how your other teammate Sasuke deserted the village. How you begged Naruto to bring back the love of your life. Of all the people that ever brought pain to Naruto….Sakura, you're the worst." At this Sakura snapped out of her silence and responded in kind.

"I don't understand who you think you are to judge me. You are an outsider and I don't know what Naruto told you but he wants Sasuke back just as bad." Fu gave the pinkette a stare down and uttered a simple phrase that gave Sakura goose bumps.

"A promise of a lifetime." Fu got out of her bed and walked towards the window. "Maybe you are as blind as I thought you would be. Naruto really likes you, but you are blind because you are obsessed with Sasuke. Tell me, do you know how much Naruto had to go through just so that he could get strong enough to fulfill his promise to you? He told me everything, the number of times he almost died, how this village treated him when he was younger, but after all the crap he had to deal with, he always went back to saying it was for his friends…..for you." Sakura did not know what to say to this, but she suddenly felt weak in the knees. "Tell me Sakura-san, how in love are you with Sasuke. I can tell from here that if you like him or love him, your feelings are directed to Sasuke. The problem is that there is no room for anyone else."

"That's not -"

"Please don't kid yourself. You are just in denial otherwise. What I really want to know…..is when you do meet with Sasuke again, what will you do? Everything Naruto has done was for your sake, but from what I can tell from here, when it all comes to head will you side with Sasuke and betray with Naruto?"

"Of course I won't. I just want to have Team 7 back together. With Sasuke-kun and Naruto."

"That's such a juvenile hopes and dreams. Even if you deny it, I think I can tell that you will hurt Naruto more than you can ever imagine. That's why; I want you to stay away from Naruto." Fu finished her little chat as she sat down in a chair and continued to watch out the window.

"Even though you said all that, you are completely wrong. For future notice, please stay out of our business." Sakura left the room and marched back home.

"Idiot girl…..you're obsessed with a guy who will walk all over anyone for his goals while there is an incredible guy that has always been there for you. Haruno Sakura...whether you know it or not you are causing Naruto pain and for that, you are the worst kind of person."

**A/N I'm well aware this is shorter than usual but ya...sorry Until next time**

**Krazykandyman**


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